The Family Tree
by Parkway Dr
Summary: He finally found him. After years of training and after years of hate, can the son of Raditz face down his own uncle? Or will the greater threats of the world bring their broken family together? AU re-write, Android/Cell saga.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi. I always had something like this in my mind, but I never really had the means to put it together... well, until now, obviously. For the most part, for those who may be wondering, I do intend to create a re-write for the Android/Cell saga. If it will carry over into the Buu saga I'm not sure yet. If Raditz will make an appearance... well, that's for you to decide. Hope you enjoy. :)**

The flashing of lights and beeps of his computer woke him from his restless slumber. His left eye opened as the planet he had targeted came to view, the entirety of his vision shaded behind the dark blue hue of his scouter.

"Is this Earth?" he asked.

"... Confirmed. Planet Earth, entering atmosphere now. Scanning for habitual-"

"I know it's breathable."

"... Acknowledged. Landing sequence initiated at last known PTO ship signal."

His stomach flipped. He was finally here. Tracking his kinsmen was obviously an ignorant move for him; everyone was dead.

Well, not everyone.

Placing a track on Frieza's ship was such an obvious move, he was wondering why he hadn't thought of it.

_-I suppose thinking was never part of my family, so father always told me.-_

His ship carried him deeper into the atmosphere until he could finally make an image out into his vision.

Cities, miles and miles in length, busy and bustling. Completely unaware of his arrival, and he liked it that way. He wasn't messy with his work. Purge a planet, he would do it. Kill a man, and he did so, and not a person more; pets included.

**X X X**

"GOKU! LOOK AT THIS MESS!"

Poor Goku stood in the kitchen with his head sunk down, broken dishes littered the floor of the living room as his fuming wife stood across the table. Gohan hid behind his father.

"Aw come on Chi-Chi, it was an accident-"

"No Goku! You don't 'accidently' flip over an entire table, then catch the table but destroy all of the dishes in the process! And you!" she pointed to behind Goku. "I saw you this morning sneaking out of your window! Going to train with your father and forsake your studies?"

"B-But Mom, I-"

"NO BUTS GOHAN! THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR STUDIES!"

"But Chi-Chi we had this discussion!" Goku flailed his hands around. "We only have two more years until those androids show up, I need Gohan to-"

"GOHAN NEEDS TO STUDY AND MAKE SOMETHING OF HIMSELF, UNLIKE HIS FATHER WHO DOES NOTHING BUT FIGHT ALIENS!"

Goku could feel a headache coming on. These arguments never ended well, never mind the fact that he accidently knocked the table over, caught it, but still couldn't save the dozens of broken dishes that were sparkling clean thanks to his usual eating habits.

All of a sudden he stopped. Chi-Chi's nagging voice filtered out as something came into his head. Something heavy, sad, angry.

"Gohan."

"I feel it too, Dad."

"Good. Then stay here with your mother."

"What? Dad-"

"No buts, Gohan. Listen to your mother. I'll be back soon." he quickly brushed past his wife out of the door, flaring his ki as he shot to the sky in the direction of where he felt this new energy.

_-That power. It feels so familiar, but there's no way it could be that strong.-_

The swelling of power got closer, the distance closing inch by inch until it finally stopped. Goku had flown for miles, ending in an open grassy meadow. Civilization was nowhere for miles, as was the nearest body of water.

"It's here..." he stepped down, his boots pressing onto the grass below as he looked around. "Alright! I know you're here!"

Soft steps came to his ear as Bardock's son glanced behind him, the image of a person finally came into view. When he turned around, he gasped in shock at what stood in front of him.

He was barely an inch shorter than him, somewhere in his late teens to early twenties. His black hair was spiky, sticking out in large spikes to the right in the front, receding to a shorter length to the left. Goku ignored his black and brown plated armor, drawn to only one thing that immediately stuck out to him.

A tail.

"You're..."

"A Saiyan." he cut him off. "Without a doubt one of the very last, no thanks to you."

"What?"

He took one step forward before his furious eyes focused directly on him.

"I'm going to ask you a question. Tell me, does the name Raditz sound familiar to you?"

His heart was pierced. It made perfect sense now. The tail, the face, the hair.

"That's my brother. Or he was."

He gave a pained yet equally angry smirk. "My name is Raiza."

He stepped even closer, until they were inches apart from each other's faces. The harsh howling of the wind brought goosebumps across Goku's skin as he stared into the face of someone he had never met, but he already knew, and knew exactly what he wanted.

"Raditz... was my father."

**End Chapter 1**

**Hope you liked the beginning. Next chapter coming... now. -PD**


	2. Chapter 2

Lightning crackled in the sky as dark clouds slowly dragged themselves around where the two saiyans stood. The low rumbling of thunder didn't perturb either of them as their glares remained solid on each other.

Finally, Goku knew he had to break the silence.

"I'm sorry, Raiza. I wish that-"

"SHUT UP!" he shouted, his ki exploding in a white flare, ripping the grass out of the ground as the sudden surge of power surprised even Goku.

Then again, they were family. His nephew.

"The last thing I want to hear from _you_ is an apology!" he snarled, growling louder as Goku's face remained still and unmoved. "My mother died so soon after I was born. It was just the two of us. My father was EVERYTHING TO ME!" his frustration finally brought forth his tears of fury as the heat of the trails ran across his cheeks. "Do you know what it's like? Only seeing your only family member every so often in between missions? I think Frieza got a sick thrill out of purposely conflicting our times away with each other."

"It mustn't have been easy." he calmly replied.

Raiza scoffed, holding the urge to spit in his uncle's face. "He was a good father, and an even better soldier. He did his job and never once complained, even when Nappa belittled him right in front of me about going to find you."

That surprisingly was a shock to him. "I thought Raditz wanted to find me because I didn't finish my mission?"

"You think that was it? My father had a plan, he _always_ had a plan!" he clenched his fists, Goku could feel his ki slowly swelling. It was hard to believe how much power he had building. Could that many years of hate truly drive someone to become so powerful? All he had to do was remember what Frieza had put Vegeta through, and the question was gone.

_Flashback_

_Raiza wrapped his tail around his waist as he stepped out of the shower, his towel supported by the length of fur that acted as his belt for everything. He walked next to his bed and pulled over the black tights that went all the way down to his ankles and wrists. It was much more comfortable than it looked, always keeping him warm when the ship was cold at night, which was almost all the time._

_The door slid open and his father stepped through, his hair mixed in with sweat, dirt, and probably the blood of who knows how many people he had killed this mission._

"_Dad."_

"_This is a nice surprise." Raditz smirked. "It's been a couple of weeks since I last saw you."_

_Raiza smiled. "Yeah, it has. How'd the mission go?"_

"_Apparently three days for planet Shikk isn't fast enough for Frieza." he scoffed as he sat on the bed on the opposite side of the room from his. "Nappa lost his cool again. Idiot nearly got himself killed... again."_

"_He does that a lot."_

"_Most of the time he has the power to deal with whatever is pissing him off. Not against Frieza and his little cronies, though." then his face lit up. "That reminds me. I've got good news, son."_

"_Hm?"_

"_Appule did some digging for me. It's y__our Uncle Kakarot. Seems he's still alive, like the traders you talked to said."_

"_Really?" his face seemed hopeful. "Where is he?"_

"_A place called Earth. Fairly far from here... though it is a hunch if he's still alive. The assignment was a purge, and from what I've gathered, he hasn't registered anything with us."_

"_But Dad do you think-"_

"_He might be, son. I hope he isn't. Out of the rest of the saiyan race, I'm fortunate enough to have my son, and I'd be even more fortunate to have my brother, too."_

_Raiza smiled at his father's face. He wasn't the strongest person he knew, but he was damn well the bravest and smartest when he chose to be. _

_It was then he noticed his father's rare emotional side come out. He quickly took a seat next to him on his spring-broken bed, not that his was much better. _

"_Dad what's wrong?"_

_He sighed. "I'm tired."_

"_Well you had a mission, so probably-"_

"_Not that, Raiza. I'm tired of this life. I'm a saiyan, not a gun for hire. I can barely carry my weight to Nappa, and Vegeta, well, he's in a league of his own." his hands sunk into his dirty hair, fingers pressing against the dirt and sand that pressed against his scalp. "If Kakarot is still alive, I need to get him to come with us." he looked to his son, his face focused and truly giving its undivided attention. "We can all make it out of here alive. I know we can."_

_Raiza returned his expression with a hopeful nod. "Me too, Dad."_

_End Flashback_

"He was so sure that you'd come willingly to help stop Frieza."

"That's not what he said when he came to Earth."

"I know. I stationed to his frequency before he left... I heard everything." he scoffed. "You really think my father was going to kill you? He _needed_ you, how much sense would it have made to kill his objective? Those attacks he was using, they would have hurt you, but all he was doing was trying to knock you out. I know he would have explained everything to you... not that any of it makes a difference now."

"Raiza." Goku calmly spoke up. "I'm sorry things ended the way they did. I wish Raditz would have come to me about this in a better way than kidnapping my son."

A psychotic glimmer in Raiza's eyes took place. "You think things ended? No, uncle-"

Before he knew it, Goku met with a knee in his face, shooting him horizontally away before he quickly caught himself. He felt for his nephew's power, but he couldn't find it, he was too quick. He always met with the trail end- until now.

His right arm met with Raiza's drop-kick, the force digging him deep into the ground as a small crater formed.

"Nothing is over! Nothing is over until you're dead, and my father is avenged!"

His left hand shot up, flinging a ki blast, but Raiza phased away just before it struck him.

"Raiza!" Goku called. "Stop this! You don't have to go down this path!"

A sick laugh could be heard in several directions. Almost as if the echo was all around him. "Uncle Kakarot, I assure you, once this is done, I won't be a bother to anyone else. I'm not a brute like most of our kinsmen. You're my only target, and that's all you'll be; I couldn't care less about this planet."

Goku grunted, realizing he wasn't reaching him as he clenched his fists. "Will you listen to me? This isn't what your father would have wanted!"

"Don't you dare talk about him... like you know him!"

A brutal blow to the gut knocked the wind out of him as Raiza's shin slammed into the side of his head, sending him off to the side.

Goku quickly rebounded himself as he back flipped and shot himself up before stopping at a diagonal angle.

"Don't you realize what you've let yourself become? You've allowed that sorrow to swallow you up! It's consumed you!"

"Nothing can consume me! Nothing is there, don't you get it? My father was all I had, and I barely saw him! When you killed him, you took the only thing that kept me going! After that, all I could think, all I could live for, was avenging him. Avenging the only man who ever gave a damn about me, the only one who would volunteer for solo missions of impossible odds to make extra wages to put food in my mouth; you have no idea how loving a father he was! Someone like you will _never_ understand the sacrifices of the working man!"

Raiza's ki flared into a hot white aura around him as his energy shot even further up. Goku was concerned now; he was almost as strong as Frieza at half of his power. He couldn't control his transformation yet, it was still a work in progress.

_Damn it. I need to calm him down... wait a second._

"When Frieza left for Namek I took my chance and escaped. All I could think, all I could breathe was my hate for you, and how I had to become strong, strong enough to rip you in half!"

"You don't get it, Raiza! I died in that battle too! You said you were listening too on his scouter, weren't you? Then you know I died just like he did!"

"Don't play your fucking games with me!" he clicked his scouter as he examined his opponent's power level. "And do yourself a favor: give up now and let me put you out of your misery. 500,000, what a joke." he smirked.

"I've got ten times the power."

Goku gasped. It was true, he _was_ as strong as Frieza, almost. If he had fought Frieza at full power, he wouldn't stand a chance. Regardless, Goku discovered his transformation into Super Saiyan only because of Krillin. He tried, and tried, but finding the trigger was nerve racking. He just couldn't do it.

"It's sad," Goku narrowed his eyes to his nephew, the grass across the meadow flying in the current of their generated gust of wind. "never had I wanted to hurt anyone. Even Raditz, when he kidnapped and threatened to kill my son, y_our_ cousin, I felt the compassion to let him go. He stabbed me in the back and attacked me right after!"

"Ha! Compassion! You said you died, but look at you, standing above me, like a FUCKING preacher!" he shouted as his furious ki flared up again. Goku could feel his power. He knew he couldn't hold back on him, but he was hoping his newfound plan would work.

_He's still just a kid. Alright, let's hope this works._

"You know you shouldn't trust those scouters. They're pretty misleading. Especially when a fighter can hide their true power."

"I could kill you now, it wouldn't even be a chore for me!" Raiza's saiyan arrogance spoke up. "But the ultimate way to defeat a warrior, a _saiyan_ of all people, is to face them at their full power, and watch his pride shatter into thousands of pieces. So take all the time you need, because it won't be enough!"

Goku smirked as he observed Raiza's scouter begin to beep alive again.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"730,000... 964,000... That's it, show me what you've got." he said to himself.

"Kaio-ken... times 10!"

His scouter went off the fritz, numbers beeping and scattering to gather a proper reading. He raised an eyebrow as his red aura exploded, finally, he glanced at what his scouter registered.

"Error?" he asked himself. "Damn thing froze on me." with a quick whip of his hand, the scouter clicked to the ground; he'd have to mess with it later.

"Can't you feel that rush, Uncle Kakarot? One of us could die here, our powers at maximum, a real battle of saiyans!"

"Except this isn't just a battle for you."

"No. No, you're right." he knelt into a fighting stance. "This is a mission. Once I'm finished with you, I'll finish off the rest of the Planet Trade Organization. First Frieza, then his father, then that smug brother of his! I'm gonna free this universe from slavers like him, and make my forgotten race proud beyond the grave!"

"You're too late Raiza!" Goku replied. "Frieza's dead, so is King Cold."

His eyes shot open. "What?"

"It's true. Vegeta is still alive... and he has a son. That son came from the future and killed Frieza and King Cold."

"Like I give a damn about Vegeta and the god damn future!"

Before Goku could react, his head twitched from a sudden fist crashing inward, throwing him far away until he caught himself. He had only a brief moment to catch his breath before his nephew flung himself towards him. One, two punches, Goku dodged both, catching his third one with his elbow as he held him off, a pained and annoyed grunt exhaling from his nephew.

"Damn... you!" he spat, slamming his left shin into Goku's side. He took the hit, registering no pain at all, instead, grabbing it with his free arm, trapping his leg as he started spinning around.

"Let go of me! You think this is some kind of joke?" Raiza shouted as he was spun faster and faster. Finally, Goku let go, tossing the young saiyan far away as Goku finally gave chase to him for a change.

Raiza finally got his bearings back, in time to see his uncle ready to strike. His fist came down, and he phased away. A kick slammed towards Goku's head, only to meet with another phase.

A few moments went by. He was nowhere in sight, and with his scouter frozen he had no means of finding him.

"What a waste." Goku said, Raiza furiously glancing around in every direction to find him. "You're even stronger than I am. And you let all of that power go to waste channeling it through nothing but anger. There's no technique behind your attacks, just anger and brutality. Even Vegeta learned from that mistake long ago."

"YOU DID THIS TO ME!" he yelled. "Now come out and fight me! You think I lack the technique to pulverize you when you know I am stronger? Gah! I'll show you!"

Then Goku appeared, a few feet in front of him as they hovered several feet above the ground.

"Look at you." Raiza tauned. "Looking down on me, like you're better than me?" he fumed. "I will avenge my father for your betrayal to our family!"

He held his open palms apart at arms length as two large purple spheres of energy gathered up.

Goku recognized it the moment he took that stance, he really was Raditz's son.

"DOUBLE SUNDAY!"

The blasts completely enveloped Goku, flinging even further away, miles upon miles until a thunderous boom filled the skies.

When the smoke cleared, he was panting; the attack had drained him drastically. His uncle might have had a point however; he wasn't used to drawn out fights where he had to conserve energy, even when he was working for Frieza.

"I... heh heh... I did it..." he clenched his fists in joy. "I did it! I killed him! Father did you see? I avenged you! It's finally over!"

His ears finally stopped ringing from the blast as he began to come back to hearing the sounds around him. One in particular, caught his attention, and a cold chill ran up and down his spine.

He quickly shot around, and what he saw, he couldn't believe.

It couldn't be his uncle, not a chance. His gi was completely torn apart. One leg was shredded, his first shirt destroyed, leaving his blue shirt in rags. But his hair... and his eyes. That aura...

"No... that isn't..."

"I think I understand now." Goku said, his voice soothing, yet tenacious to his nephew's ears. "When I fought Frieza, I couldn't understand what made me click. Later I realized, there's a trigger. There's a trigger to becoming a Super Saiyan, an emotional one. Lose a friend, family members, or suffer the greatest levels of frustration, it all boils down to the anger that you reach in the next stage of suffering."

"Don't... don't you lecture me! You MURDERER!"

Raiza flashed directly in front of Goku, volleying his fists and kicks, never once hitting their target as his uncle easily dodged without any effort. Finally, he slammed one last hook with all the strength his could muster, twitching Goku's head to the side, but all in all, did nothing.

He growled in hate, retracting his fist as he took a stance in mid-air. He wasn't backing down, even if the legend came to be, nothing would stop him from avenging the name of the only man who ever taught him anything.

"I understand how to enable the trigger." he started again. "What I did, brought more pain than health. You lived your life alone and in pain, growing to hate me. That's how I did it, I promised myself I would never allow that to happen to anyone again."

"What a nice speech, but you're forgetting something, _Uncle_."

Goku said nothing as he stared into the eyes of a now confused and frightened saiayn.

"You aren't the one suffering! I am! And I always will be until I tear the life out of you!"

He rushed him again, roundhouse kicking, only to meet the air as his target ducked beneath him. He was behind him now. He turned, kick, punch, punch, nothing. He was toying with him, even as he flung a barrage of fists, he merely danced away from each and every one.

"You think this is some sort of game? Fight me!"

As if on instinct, Raiza's fist went straight past Goku's face. In that moment, Goku slammed his fist into Raiza's gut, cracking through his armor as he gasped in pain, nearly vomiting from impact. He made a full spin before kicking his nephew down into the meadow below them, exploding it into a rift of destroyed ground and strands of grass.

He descended down to see his nephew kneeling, slowly picking himself up. His right shoulder pad had been destroyed, and his left one was cracked as the blood from his head drizzled down his face.

"You have all that power, and you've allowed yourself to be consumed by your hate for me. It's made you weak and careless, and worst of all, you know it. I've won."

He coughed, vomiting blood as he fell on a knee again. His eyes and his mind kept going. He knew what he was going to do, but his body just wouldn't move.

"I would... rather... die!"

He flung himself forward, throwing a straight, which his uncle simple sidestepped. He spun counter clockwise, his shin coming into contact with a sturdy forearm.

His vision began to blur out. He was completely drained. Even the simple movements were taking a toll on him.

"Raiza." he said. "It's over."

"Nothing is over!" he screamed, firing a ki blast directly at him as he fell on his back.

The smoke quickly cleared, searing the collar and left sleeve off of Goku's weighted shirt. The attack did nothing, and he was completely out of energy at this point. He winced from the pain of his limbs giving out, struggling to get up as his uncle glanced down at him.

"I'm sorry about Raditz. I wish there had been another way. Wish he would have told us about Frieza... we could have worked together and stopped him."

"That was the... plan." he grunted. "We would have been too much for him. My grandfather... your father, made the artificial moon. He would have been a synch against all of us."

"You have to understand why I did what I did. Raditz was far stronger than I was, and he was threatening to kill my son. Wouldn't you have tried to save your children?"

"He... wasn't going to kill anyone. All of his attacks, they were... used to hit pressure points. You would collapse from pain... but he was going to spare you. He needed you!"

As predicted, Goku glanced to his right to see the next two highest power levels on the planet standing on the other side of the meadow. One collected namekian, and one proud saiyan prince, who was showing an earnest face of surprise as he noted who was lying still on the floor.

"He's... alive." Vegeta spoke out loud.

"You know him?" Piccolo asked.

"His name is Raiza. He's Raditz's son."

Piccolo's eyes raised up; that wasn't a name he had heard in years, not that he wanted to hear it.

They gazed over the beaten body of the young saiyan, Goku's hair finally falling down as he returned to his normal state.

"So, it looks like you managed to keep yourself alive after all these years, boy." Vegeta crossed his arms. "And the first thing you did when you came here was attempt to take Kakarot down, when he is clearly mine."

Raiza scoffed as he glanced up. "He killed... my father. I should be... the one to-"

"No." Piccolo finally cut in. "Goku didn't kill your father." he sighed. "I did."

"No that's... not true." he coughed. "How did-"

"You said it yourself," Piccolo interrupted again. "you could hear everything from your father's scouter, just like Vegeta and Nappa could. You know I killed him, and yet you're blaming your uncle simply because he's family. Never understood saiyan pride, never will."

"So... is that it?" he finally picked himself up, holding his side as he heaved from exhaustion and dehydration. "This is where it all ends, isn't it? Well I won't..." he clenched his fists together one last time, charging his ki back up to a white hot aura. "I won't... go down without a..." he staggered, eyes blurring, darkness surrounding. "...fight."

Goku caught him just before he fell. "He's unconscious."

"Well, what are you going to do about him, Kakarot?"

This without a doubt puzzled him. Not only did they have less than two years to prepare for the arrival of the androids Trunks warned them about, but he had to worry about his nephew coming after him. Even though he was a Super Saiyan, Raiza was still very powerful; without a doubt stronger than Vegeta at the moment. But he lacked the fighting experience to make his hits count, making his high power level almost completely useless. In many ways, Gohan had more discipline than he did.

_What do I do about this... I can't just leave him... maybe I should..._

"Well, Kakarot?"

"It's true, he'll probably still want to fight me. Piccolo too, since he just told him. But, he's still Raditz's son, he's still family to me. If nothing else, maybe he'll come around once he wakes up."

"Tch. You didn't know your brother, Kakarot. Raditz wouldn't want this foolish pity you're giving his son."

"Maybe not." Goku turned to face the stout prince as he held Raiza bridal style. "But I'm better than that, that much I know. Besides, I think we all know we have bigger things to worry about."

"Agreed." Piccolo spoke up. "If we can settle him down, maybe he can help us fight the androids, although I'm not sure he'll be so inclined at first."

"You two _really_ think he's going to just up and join the _good guys_ because you say 'sorry for killing daddy'? Raditz was hard on his boy for a good reason: so that way he wouldn't end up like such a weakling like he was."

Goku sighed. Vegeta had a point. Years of service under Frieza as a saiyan had to have been difficult. Vegeta said Raditz was tough on Raiza, and it was easy to believe. But Raiza said his father was gentle, and warm to him.

"I'll take my chances."

Piccolo smirked at Vegeta's agitation. "Kakarot have you gone mad? If you put that boy in a bed in your home he's going to atomize it the second he wakes up!"

"Like I said... I'll take my chances."

The prince spat as he crossed his arms and turned around. "Do what you will. Don't come to me expecting me to stop him."

As Vegeta flew off, Piccolo remained for a moment longer.

"He does have a point. He's unstable."

"You and him were too if I remember correctly." he smirked.

A low chuckle escaped from the namekian. "Perhaps. There's a difference however: Vegeta and I _were_ the main threat at the time. This time it's different; now we have one other thing to worry about on top of these androids coming." he pointed to Goku. "And that virus, the one that kills you in his timeline."

He nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Still, I think we at least owe him this much."

Piccolo sighed. "Alright. I'll be back in the morning."

"Right."

**X X X**

_4 days later_

A cool breeze tripped over his face. He was so sure he had just fallen asleep and woken up a few moments earlier, but it wasn't the case. Not at all. He sat up, rubbing his eyes open as he looked around where he was sleeping. An empty bed room. Just this bed, and a desk at the end of the room opposite to the door. Right next to his bed was an open window, no doubt the reason he woke up. But he still didn't know where he was.

_Where... am I?_

The door creaked open and his palm was open with an energy blast ready to fire. But instead, a young boy creeped in.

"Oh wow, you're awake!" he laughed. "Man, you were out for a while."

"What are you talking about?" he lowered his hand, canceling the attack out.

"It's been about... four days, since my dad brought you back home."

_Kakarot brought me back home?... To his home... why?_

"I see." he sighed.

"Soo..." the kid twiddled his thumbs. "I'm your cousin. Gohan." he smiled as he waved.

Too tired to be upset, and a pounding headache kept him from being back to his usual angry self. He gave a small smirk and waved back. "Hello Gohan."

"Oh. My mom said breakfast is ready. You better come eat before my dad eats it all!" he laughed as he ran out the door and downstairs.

Raiza rubbed his head. His head was killing him, and his stomach was definitely voicing an opinion. He couldn't fight on an empty stomach, he would have to try and hold himself back for now.

_But why would he do this for me? I hate him... I tried to kill him._

Giving up, he pulled the covers up and stepped out of the bed, wearing something given to him while asleep by the looks of it. Loose blue pants and a short-sleeved black shirt. The white sash from the pants hung low.

"Guess... I can deal with this after I eat."

**End Chapter 2**

**Well well, looks like we've got another saiyan in the Son household. Wonder how Raiza's going to handle this situation with Goku? Is he gonna get his revenge? Hard to think about it, since Piccolo's the one who killed him... ah, saiyans and their pride. Anyway, please review and I'll see you next time! -PD**


	3. Chapter 3

Following his nose downstairs, Raiza's face lit up in delight at the site of a table, bowls and plates filled with assorted meats, rice, egg rolls, fish, and ramen.

"You're finally up." Chi-Chi greeted him. "The boys are out training right now. I have a feeling you're hungry, go right ahead."

He took the offer right away and took a seat in front of the plate of pork he had been eyeing as he viciously wolfed down everything he could grab. Chi-Chi watched in disgust, though she couldn't be surprised by this; being a saiyan, and being related to Goku, he had without a doubt inherited the appetite.

"I'm Chi-Chi by the way, Goku's wife."

Raiza picked up a drum stick, completely tearing all of the meat off of it as he swallowed it whole and turned to his in-law. He nodded. "I can tell. You have his scent. Thank you for taking care of me."

"It wasn't me, believe it or not. Goku took a lot of time out of his training to watch over you and-"

Raiza all of a sudden lost his appetite. He stood up, clearing his throat as he made his way to the door. "Thank you for the food, but I'm full now."

Without waiting for a response, he stepped outside and quickly flew away from the home. The wilderness was beautiful from up above. Where he was heading he wasn't quite sure, but the air became too thick for him to stay in that house.

Just the idea, the thought, of him nursing him. That kind face, yet the knowledge of what he had done. He couldn't stand him, and he couldn't stand him even further simply because of how grateful he really was for being helped.

He stopped high above a body of water, a thin body running in a wavy pattern in the middle of a forest, stretching for miles past how far he could see.

"I have to get out of here. Need to find my ship. Need to..." he stopped himself. His words were empty and he knew it. He felt all of his pent up hate release that day, but that dark kernel never left. He hated him, he refused to believe what that green man said to him. Kakarot killed his father, and he was going to pay the price for it.

But he knew he couldn't win, he found that out the hard way. Somehow, someway, he had unlocked the secrets behind the legendary transformation of a Super Saiyan.

He sighed, there was no point in fighting this. He couldn't win, and the person who he wanted to kill was obviously stronger than he was.

He floated along over the bustling city below him. He had nothing else better to do, so he decided to see if there was something to do to take his mind off of things.

A small group of people ohh'd and ahh'd as he dropped down from the sky. He immediately regretted this decision, way too many people were watching him.

"He just fell from the sky!"

"Can he fly?"

"Why isn't he wearing any shoes?"

"He has a tail!"

"It's a trick! It's just a trick, like Mr. Satan always says!"

He ignored them, glancing around at the odd buildings and strange written language. It's true, Saiyan and the language of Earth was no different spoken, but he literally had no idea what he was looking at as he passed signs, billboards, stores, and all the attractions that came into his line of sight. The characters were completely obscure.

Finally, something caught his ear.

"...for just lasting 5 minutes against my champ. That's right, 100,000 zeni to tango with my boy right here for 5 big minutes! Who wants in? 10,000 to try, step right up people!"

Raiza definitely understood that. He smirked as he walked up to a crowd of people gathered around, hoping to see what this big champion looked like.

As he walked up, he bumped into a teenage boy by the looks of it. His black hair covered his icy blue eyes as he glanced at him. "Hey, watch it man, I'm trying to watch the fight."

"Huh?"

"Hey, wait a second, I know you." he said. "Yeah, you're that guy who fell from the sky. Fly guy, sure I remember hearing about you a few minutes ago. You gonna fight?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sorry, where are my manners. I'm Andrew." he offered his hand.

Raiza awkwardly shook hands with him. "Is this guy actually strong?"

"No idea. My sister's working on that nifty bag of cash the loudmouth has over there." he pointed. "Tell you what, how would you like to make a little money, fly guy?"

"You want me to fight him."

"Not only do I want you to fight him, I want you to beat him. That way you keep that prize, and while he's distracted, my sister will grab his bag and make off."

"You're thieves."

"Please. I prefer Robin Hoods. This guy's a regular corporate fat cat in the martial arts business. He fixes fights and pays off other fighters and refs to look the other way. From what I see he's gotta have a couple hundred thousand in that sack."

Raiza sighed. "Whatever, I don't care."

"That's the spirit." Andrew calmly replied as he reached for the pistol in his holster. He aimed the gun up to the sky and fired a shot, silencing the crowd as they all turned their eyes on him.

"Double or nothing against my man right here!" Andrew declared, mocking the southern voice of the stout man next to his own fighter.

"It's the fly guy!"

"Oh my god is that fly guy?"

"Fly guy's gonna fight!"

"Oh yeah?" the short man snorted. "You got the money to back up your offer, kid?"

Andrew reached into his pocket, four stacks of zeni, each labeled 50,000 per. "I'm a man of my word."

The crowd roared with excitement as they made a path for Raiza to step in.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll win."

"Thanks." he smirked. "I actually need this."

The space between him and the man's fighter was small. They were merely a few feet apart. The fighter was tall and bulky, his hair buzzed down and a scar traced down his left eye.

"Remember, if you can last _ten_ minutes against my champ, you'll win 200,000 zeni!"

"Hey!" Andrew called, now in the front of the crowd. "You said five, short stuff. What's the deal?"

"Double the money, double the time, son."

Raiza's saiyan arrogance began to surface. "Two seconds."

"What?" the fighter asked, agitated with a heavy Russian accent.

"If you can even last two seconds against me, I'll concede, and my friend will pay up."

"Hey! What's the big idea, fly guy?" Andrew asked, nervousness in his voice.

"Alright! Two seconds for two... hundred... THOUSAND ZENI! Three!"

Raiza crossed his arms, his tail loosened around his waist as it hung down.

"Two!"

The champion fighter took his stance, deciding where to strike first as he waited for the timer. "I'm going to crush you, money will be mine!"

"One!"

Immediately, he rushed at him. The speed was actually quite fast, and if he was a regular human, they wouldn't be able to trace him. But even without his scouter, he was a slug.

"One."

Finally, he appeared in front of him, throwing a punch to his face.

Then, his tail swung up, swatting the fighter in the face as it tossed him through the crowd and through the window of the bakery across the street.

"Two." Raiza smirked.

The crowd was in absolute silence. Even Andrew wasn't sure what to say. He took his orange scarf and wiped it over his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming. But it was true, he just won with the flick of a tail.

Then the crowd roared with applause and cheers for their new hero. It was unreal; this man had been at work for over a week, beating everyone and never losing once.

"Fly guy! Fly guy! Fly guy! Gooooooo fly guy!"

Andrew smirked as he stepped next to Raiza, holding his hand out. "I think you owe us some money, my man."

"Now just... hold on a minute! Your boy cheated, you see."

"What?" Andew snarled.

"What kind of person has a tail? Only things a part of your body can-"

Before he knew it, Raiza had literally dropped his pants and turned around, mooning the short obese businessman. "Real enough for you?"

In shock, he fell off of the stool he sat on, bag in hands as Raiza pulled his pants back up. "F... Fine."

He reached in, collecting ten rolls of cash, labeled 10,000 each as he handed it to Raiza. "There you are. 100,000."

"Thanks. Now where's the other half?" Andrew cockily smirked.

He grumbled as he turned around, grabbing the rest of the cash as he handed the last half to Andrew this time.

"Thanks for playing, y'all." Andrew said in a mocking southern accent. "We'll just be heading on out now."

The big businessman turned to head back to his bag, only to see a young girl grab the bag, small strands of blonde hair hanging out of a black baseball cap.

"Hey! Stop her!"

"Bingo." Andrew said to himself. "Come on, let's go."

"Huh?"

"What, you want your cut, right?"

"I... guess."

"It'll be easier if we fly. Come on." he nudged.

"... We?"

"No damn it, you! You're the fly guy, remember?"

"How did I get that name?" Raiza asked himself as he lifted Andrew up, catching the surprise of the crowd as they cheered for him.

"I LOVE YOU FLY GUY!" shouted random citizens from below.

"Janelle is going back home. Just head this way."

"Who's Janelle?"

"My sister, who do you think? Come on, that way!" he pointed.

Raiza rolled his eyes. What did he get himself into?

**End Chapter 3**

**So who do you think Andrew and Janelle are? Hmm, I think I described Andrew enough to give him away. If you figured it out, yes, I gave them names because they were actually people at one point, and I wanted to give a small story behind it. Not a lot of people do it. And if you didn't figure it out, then what I just said should have just given it away XD Anyway, review away! -PD**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the story being deleted. Not sure how that happened. Anyway, brought it back as you can plainly see... and we'll keep this going!**

"Right there." Andrew pointed. "See that run down school building? That's it."

Raiza landed down on the dead grass of the breaking down school building. Holding her knees and panting from running as fast as she was, Janelle looked up to see her brother with his new friend from the looks of it.

"Oh man, sis, you look terrible." Andrew teased. "Too heavy for you?"

"It's good that it was." she unzipped the bag, allowing dozens upon dozens of rolled up 10,000 markers to hit the ground. Andrew's eyes glazed at the money falling down, but shook his head. _This isn't yours. Not all of that, anyway. Relax._

"And who's this?" Janelle removed her cap, letting her blonde hair flow down. Raiza immediately noticed a resemblance to them. "Made a new friend?"

"He came by at the right time, actually." her brother chuckled. "He took down that champion fighter so you could grab the goods."

Raiza stood with his arms crossed. Janelle looked down and noticed how the tall young man wasn't wearing any shoes. "What are you, a hobbit?"

"Actually I'm a saiyan."

"A what?"

"Never mind. Look I really don't care about getting any cut or whatever currency you guys use. I just helped cause you asked. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"Let's see here," Andrew said as he placed his foot next to the saiyan's. "Yep, just as I thought. Hey sis, you remember where I had those spare Sketchers?"

"I think Ma has them."

"Come on, man. You helped us out, the least we can do is put some shoes on you." Andrew held his arms out playfully. "Besides, my sister's been eyeing you since we got down. You should probably stay and-"

Janelle loudly cleared her throat, covering her face with a deep shade of red as she picked up the bag, refilling it and entering the door to the old school building.

"Ah don't mind her, she's just shy. Kind of gets annoying how often she tells me about the guys she thinks are cute. That reminds me, I never got your name."

"Raiza."

"Interesting name. Parents feeling adventurous?"

"It's a Saiyan name."

"I still don't know what that means." he shrugged. "But hey, whatever you want. Anyway, let's head down to the home. I'll get you those shoes from Ma and you can be on your way."

"Who's Ma?" the saiyan asked, somewhat curious now.

"Remember how I said we're Robin Hoods? Well, I wasn't lying. We steal from cheating scoundrels like Hennigan, the guy we just swiped." he trailed into the red rusted school door, squeaking it open as he closed it after Raiza stepped through.

"We only get a very small amount, if that. Most of the time it goes to eating and then we're out to find some more."

"I don't know your currency rate, but it looks like it should be enough to feed a family for years."

They stepped down a small staircase, turning right after the first flight down ended and opened the double doors.

"Well, not in this case." Andrew replied as he exhibited a new scene for Raiza.

Dozens of kids in rags sat in chipped wooden tables, assorted chairs, some missing legs and others missing backs all together. Their clothes were old, torn, some carrying mold. They were filthy, but, happy for some reason.

"What is this?"

"Home." Andrew replied as they took the steps down to the ground floor. "Janelle and I do these runs to feed these guys, eventually save to buy them clothes, stuff like that. None of them have parents, then again, neither do my sister and I. Not anymore. That's why we all have the same mother essentially."

"I guess that's who Ma is."

"You got it." he nodded, ruffling the hair of one of the kids as they made their way to the end of the gigantic and old gymnasium used as a cafeteria. "We've been doing this for about ten years now. Some days are better than others, but we always manage to feed these little guys till they can get out on their own."

"What about your parents?" Raiza stiffly asked, regretting his question almost right after he asked it.

"Who knows." he shrugged. "The only thing I appreciate from my father was him teaching me martial arts when I was younger. Believe me it's helped me and my sister out in a lot of situations."

"So why couldn't you fight that big oaf earlier?"

"You're a celebrity, you realize that?" Andrew smirked. "Nobody knows me. That's the way I want to keep it. The less people know about me, the less they'll be inclined to find this place, and the safer my sister will be."

After a quick knock at the door at the end of the cafeteria, a quiet voice signaled access for them, Andrew stepping in first.

Inside was what passed for the athletic director's office, but was too far torn down to really be anything, but it was without the office to the person they called Ma.

On the side was a ruined bed, the mattress revealing springs broken out from underneath as Janelle sat at the edge of it, a medium sized elderly woman bent over as she treated what looked to be a wound on her ankle.

"What's wrong, Ma?" Andrew asked with quick concern. "Is she okay?"

"Oh hello dear." she spoke, her Polish accent clear and apparent. "Yes, she is okay. She just needs to rest. She twisted her ankle when she was running."

"It's nothing, Drew, don't worry." she replied, wincing as she tried to move it.

"Ah ah ah, keep it still." the older woman said. Her gaze then shifted to the tall man at the side of her practically surrogate son. "Andrew, who is this boy?"

"His name's Raiza. He helped us knock Hennigan off his high horse."

Overjoyed by the news, Ma stood up and warmly embraced the young saiyan. "Oh! It's so good to have someone else watching out for these two. They do so much, they work so hard. I only wish I could give them more. Thank you so much."

"It was... no big deal." Raiza quietly replied.

"Nonsense, you did a good thing!" she released him, patting her dress down as she walked over to pour her tea from the whistling kettle. "Oh these big businessmen aren't just running their companies, they're running the city, I tell you! These poor children had parents who went to work for their companies, and they never come home!"

"What? You mean all of these kids are-"

Ma nodded. "Yes my dear, they're all orphaned by these companies. And they're all run by the worst one of them all. They call themselves Tetcon Red. They pay workers very highly to go work _underground_ and after first month, they disappear, and do not pay their family the wages. We take these poor children in because they have nothing else. Police is paid off, it is a crime no one does anything about!"

"Ma." Andrew said. "This collection we got is gonna set us for a while. Did Janelle show you?"

"Yes dear she did. I'm so proud of you two."

"Hey it wasn't really us this time, you know. Raiza here is the one who won the fight and gave us the chance to take off with it."

Ma smiled as she nodded. "Yes. That is true. Thank you so much, my child."

This was getting really weird, really quick to him. He had a hard time focusing on what he came here to do. For a brief moment, he actually forgot all about his uncle and his plan to avenge his father and focused on this orphanage for a moment. But then his father's last radio transmitted words echoed in his head, and it brought him all back to his cold hardened self.

"Please, if you'll excuse me." he turned, heading for the door and opened it, stepping out.

He made his way past the dozens of children speaking all at once, not understanding what they were saying as he walked up the stairs and opened the double doors to head back into the abandoned school hallway.

The sudden steps heard behind him stopped him. He turned to see Janelle with a slight limp, and a cardboard box in her hands.

"Thank you, for today." she said.

"I was just in the area."

"I know." she smiled as she pressed the box onto him. "So take this. I got these for Andrew for his birthday, but they're too big, and you don't even have shoes."

Raiza looked down at his feet. It's true, he completely forgot about that. He opened the box to see a regular pair of black tennis shoes. Inside the right shoe was a pair of socks. He knelt down, placing everything on and stood up, nodding his appreciation.

"You really helped those kids more than you think." she said. "And, well..."

He glanced at her, confused, until she made it obvious as she leaned up and pecked a kiss on his cheek, smiling as she backed down. "...thanks, from me."

Raiza gave a half smile. "Sure."

"Are you going to come back?" she asked, hopeful.

"I hadn't planned on it." he bluntly stated. "I don't even know where I am to be honest, so I can't really-"

"This is West City. Anyway, if you ever want to come back... just look for this place. We're usually here."

He gave her a thumbs up. "I'll do that. Thanks Janelle."

**X X X**

The city was huge. Looking at it from high above, it stretched for miles. He wondered how many other cities were this big.

_Damn it, I never got my scouter back. I don't even know where to go from here..._

"You seem quite lost without your scouter."

Raiza shot around quickly, ki blast charged and ready until he saw the signature cocky face he had always known since he was a child.

"Vegeta?" he canceled his blast out.

"You seem rather at ease for someone who just attempted to murder his father's killer."

"I don't consider it murder if you're avenging someone."

"Hm, yes." he smirked. "Tell me, I'm curious. Where exactly _did_ you go all these years?"

"I drifted around different stations that the PTO didn't eye very much. You could say I got most of my training from completely clearing them out."

Praise came from the prince's mouth for once. "Good. Your father would have been proud, I know that for a fact."

"How did you find me?"

Vegeta smirked as he tapped the side of his head. "Over the years, I grew out of the usage of those scouters you still rely on. I sensed your energy. It isn't hard; after all, next to Kakarot and myself, you're the strongest one on this planet. That..." he gazed down below, the head building for Capsule Corp. slowly became his home. "That, and you were so close to my home, it wasn't hard to find you."

"I see." he gazed down. "Sensing people's energy. Can you show me?"

"Come with me." he ordered as he descended, Raiza close behind.

They landed down, the enormous capsule in front of them had its doors wide open. The door to the corporate door opened, and a blue haired woman stepped out.

"Vegeta!" she called. "A little notice next time you decide to take off? And would it KILL you to close the door to the capsule? We don't need to manslaughter a butterfly when it flies into 400 times normal gravity because _someone_ didn't shut the door."

"Not now woman! I am in no mood for your nagging!"

"Nagging? I'm _pregnant_, Vegeta! I can nag all I want!"

"Take that egg in your stomach and leave me be! I need to show Raditz's boy something he's needed to know a long time ago."

"Oh, right, well go ahead then- RADITZ'S SON?"

Raiza's face was completely lost. Everywhere his father's name was spoken, everyone was terrified. Was he really that bad? He couldn't have been, that just wasn't the man he knew.

"I'm sorry if I'm intruding. Vegeta insisted I join him." he politely spoke up.

Bulma twitched. He had... manners? That was a surprise to her. "It's um... it's fine. Just go ahead, do whatever you need to do. I'll just be... inside. Yeah... inside." she said as she stepped back inside.

"She doesn't want me here." he stated.

"Apparently your father left quite a mark for the short time he was here." the prince responded. "Inside."

Raiza followed Vegeta as he stepped into the capsule, the entirety of it red from the inside. Vegeta turned and looked at him. "Well? Are you coming or not?"

He shook his head. "Right."

The moment Raiza stepped in, he could feel his feet cement to the ground. His back ached, his head began to ring. What happened? He felt dizzy, but not horrible.

"Good." Vegeta nodded. "You're adjusting quickly. You're stronger than I had first taken you for."

"No offense, but what did you think I was doing all this time?"

Vegeta smirked. "Now, you want to learn how to sense out the energy of people without the use of your scouter. Start slow, keep your eyes closed. Feel with your senses, and you'll feel a pull. That pull is the power you are sensing. Try it now."

The low humming of the training room filled his ears. He had a hard time concentrating; he wasn't used to this feeling.

_Where is it? He said there's a pull..._

"I can't find the- Hey wait what?"

Vegeta was gone.

"Vegeta?"

"_You're using your eyes and your ears to search for me. Feel it!"_ a voice came into his head.

"What the hell?" he glanced around. "No way. Okay, no way, that did _not_ just come into my head."

"_You don't even know the fundamentals. All of that power is a waste unless you actually harvest it. Now focus! Find me!"_

Like a hurricane came crashing in, loud gusts of wind filled his mind. Keeping his mind clear was grueling, and he felt sick just being in this chamber where he staggered just to move.

Then it hit him. Something cut the wind in his mind. He turned half behind to his right, his forearm holding firm against Vegeta's shin.

"Good." he said.

He lifted back down, resuming back to his training. "Well? Is there something else you wanted, boy?"

He sighed. "I don't know what to do about Kakarot."

"You don't do anything. You let me handle him once this is all settled with these 'androids.'"

He lowly growled. "That's what I don't get! Why do you want to fight him so badly? He killed my father!"

Vegeta finished his back flip, landing on his hand, flipping back again and landed up right. "You're a fool."

"What?"

"Weren't you listening to the namek at all? No, I suppose that roughing up Kakarot gave you did its number on you."

"I don't remember much after he became a Super Saiyan."

"You not only missed the namek's confession of killing your father, but you're forgetting one important thing."

"What's that?" he gripped his fist, ready to attack if the prince didn't pick his words carefully. Royalty or not, after Vegeta exploded, the title of prince held little weight for the remaining saiyans.

"You heard it."

That was the thing he had the toughest time accepting. He remembered striking down the commanding officer for the planet holding another base used for refueling of Frieza's ships. Then his scouter went off, and he heard the last of his father's voice.

Thousands of miles away, his screams of pain, his breaking voice, even his acceptance laugh knowing he was dead. It drove him to the breaking point knowing there was nothing he could have done to save him.

Raiza fell to his knees, slamming his fist into the ground, smashing the tile it struck.

"It's... not fair."

"Get up. A true saiyan doesn't pout about the things he cannot do. He _makes _them happen."

His head still hung down. All this time, he had been pretending his uncle killed his father, when he knew it wasn't true at all.

But he forced himself up. The redness of the room in a watery vision as he wiped his eyes.

"Thanks."

Vegeta said nothing as he continued on with his training. Normally someone would be offended, but Raiza remembers how he was back when he was younger. Nothing had changed.

He exited out of the capsule. Using his new found ability, he felt out... slowly, but surely, for the next highest power. Finally, he found it.

"Here we go."

**X X X**

_Earlier..._

"You know I can't do that, Goku." King Kai shook his head. "It isn't up to me to decide."

"But why not? I really need this favor, King Kai!"

Even on his knees begging like a child, King Kai stood firm with his decision. "You're not listening, Goku. I would love to do this for you. But I cannot, it just isn't going to sit well with the higher-ups."

"But why not?" he pouted. "Come on, let me talk to them!"

"No Goku!" he snapped. "Look, I can bring it up to King Yemma, but I already know what he'll say."

"Great! So let's go!" he cheered, patting his hand on the short Kai's shoulder.

"Goku wait!-"

**X X X**

Raiza decided against going to see his uncle so soon at the last minute. Instead, he stayed in the city a little while longer. He wasn't sure what kept him from going back. He really couldn't face him? No, maybe it had been the way he left. He couldn't decide, and as frustrating as it was, he couldn't think too much on it. The more he stayed here the less and less he thought about why he even came to begin with.

Night time in West City was interesting. Whenever he was on shore leave when Frieza's ship would dock, he typically found little people walking around. All usually packed into pubs, more or less. But here it was different. Day time and night were the exact same, everyone always walking around, shopping at different places, restaurants filled with people to the point of them standing outside waiting for a table.

His stomach growled. "Great, and I had to be a hero and not take any of the money they offered me." he thought out loud to himself as he gazed inside the restaurant, reminding him of one he had been to some time ago.

_Flashback_

_For the first time in months, the circumstances played well with Raditz and his son. Shore leave at the same time they were back. Nappa went off on his own, and Vegeta remained behind on the ship, leaving just the two of them._

_They found a pub and ate there. The fact that it was noisy, smelt funny, and was jam packed with dozens of other aliens didn't bother them much. They actually blended in as they told each other their stories of missions and fights._

"_You're not making that up?" a younger Raiza asked his father._

_Raditz shook his head. "Vegeta literally slapped him." he held back his laughter in between words. "He was... so offended that he ordered Vegeta to stop fighting him because it hurt so badly. Gahahaha that whole race was hilarious to battle, and their King was the best of all."_

"_But you didn't stop, right?"_

_Their scouters went off, pointing to outside as a crash was heard. They quickly left their table and found the source of the problem._

_On the ground was a painter, his picture now ruined by the mixing of unwanted paints as a tall teal changeling stood above him._

"_P-Please sir! Surely you knew th-this was a humor painting. It even said-"_

"_Do you really think my head looks that big?" he sarcastically asked. "I'm doing the world a favor by putting people like you out of business. Do you have any idea who I work for?"_

"_I'm so sorry! I'll refund everything, just please don't hurt me!"_

"_Oh my. You actually thought I was going to pay you?"_

"_Hey!"_

_Zarbon irritably turned to see an annoyed Raditz standing not too far from him, his son right at his side._

"_What do you want, ape?"_

"_This poor sod's trying to make a living, and you throw a tantrum because he didn't capture your 'infinite beauty'?" Raditz taunted._

"_How dare you!" Zarbon snapped, obviously offended. "You insolent gorilla. Do you really mean to disrespect me out here in the open?"_

"_I don't even respect you on the ship, you blue flamer!" he snapped back._

_Zarbon growled. He could easily take Raditz and his son without any issues whatsoever. But doing so out in public could hurt PSO reputation. He had to think wisely on his choices._

"_Is there a problem?"_

_Zarbon and Raditz turned to see a stern-faced Nappa with his arms crossed._

"_What if there is? What are a couple of monkeys going to do about it?"_

"_Ha ha!" Nappa roared. "Oh Zarbon, as smart as you are, I'm surprised at how little you know about protocol. If a couple of grunts get in a fight, it's not a big deal. But if a higher figure, namely a COMMANDER, such as yourself were to engage in public..."_

_Zarbon snarled, Nappa actually used logic on him? And it made sense. Anything about the military, he hated to admit, Nappa knew plenty about. And Frieza's organization was simply an army without the title._

"_Do as you will. I won't forget this."_

_As Zarbon trailed off, he glanced over to a teenage Raiza, smirking as he passed by._

"_Daddy won't be here forever."_

"_What did you say?" Raditz stepped to him._

"_Oh my, looks like I've gone and angered you."_

"_You have a problem with me, Zarbon?" Raditz yelled, now in his face._

"_If I do, what exactly does a third-class **monkey** plan to do about it?"_

"_I think that's enough, Zarbon."_

_A chill shot down Zarbon's spine, as well as the other three saiyans as an annoyed Frieza approached in his hover chair._

"_L-Lord Frieza." he bowed._

"_Please excuse my subordinate." Frieza politely said to the painter, who was still backed into a wall shaking. "He's rather insecure about his appearance."_

"_N-N-No problem, sir!" he replied._

"_Now then, Zarbon. I believe it's time you came back with me. I don't think I like how you reacted to this poor man's hard work."_

_Zarbon gulped, he knew he was going to get it. "Yes Lord Frieza. Right away."_

_End Flashback_

He remembered that too well, mostly because of how hard Zarbon tried to make his father's life miserable after that hated that life, but loved it because it was the only time he could remember when there was a molecular chance of him having a family.

He scowled at the building and kept walking. Flying didn't appease to him at the moment. But then again, nothing really did. All this time away, trying to keep his mind off things, was impossible. He was on the planet where the person he wanted to kill was living, laughing, eating, sleeping, _alive_.

But at the same time, every second he was having a harder time holding that grudge. At this point, it was simply there because he couldn't, or rather _didn't_, want to point the finger to anyone else.

"Am I doing the right thing?"

**End Chapter 4**

**So a couple of things happened here. You get to see our prior Androids living their lives, and as fairly good people, too! If this seems kind of slow, I apologize, but you know how it is... gotta lay it out otherwise it just won't make sense! Anyway, review away. Thanks! -PD**

**Ps. I'm sorry if anyone was offended by Raditz calling Zarbon a flamer... I'll just use this as a PSA to say that if I make any sort of insults or slurs, please do not take it as an offense, I do not support any term I may or may not use that could be suggestive. Just wanted to clear that up. =)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, just gonna take this time to answer a few questions/comments.**

**johncorn: I gave one indication on Raiza's power level in the second chapter. When he originally scanned Goku's power, he remarked saying he had ten times the power he scanned. I don't plan on doing much with the power levels anymore, since Raiza's scouter is lost and he knows how to sense energy now. Hope that answers your question!**

**Bonus Kun: How I wrote Chi-Chi was... yeah, not really how I originally wanted to write her, but that particular instance I felt to have her screech like a harpie at Goku. Knocking over dozens of plates would make anyone crazy, and with that temper? All kinds of shouting, but I hear ya. I plan on keeping her more docile in future chapters, unless she decides to go and get pissed off at Goku or Roshi or anyone else xD. Raiza's name isn't a pun on anything, and I knew that when I decided on his name. No pun was intended, haha, that's about the only explanation I can give you, I just liked the name. If that's not enough, shoot me a message and we'll talk. Appreciate that you offer criticism and aren't coming off as rude (some people are pretty ruthless...) so thanks for that. =)**

**And ShadowMario3 is awesome for his reviews. Keep em coming man!**

"Do you realize how difficult a situation you have put me in?"

The short and obese businessman Hennigan was on his knees in front of an executive desk, a long chair with its back to him.

"Please Mr. G, I'm sorry. I don't know how I lost it, I-"

"You just said you were robbed. Were you lying?"

"N-No! Not at all! What I meant to say was I don't know how I lost it by being mugged. You know how it is."

"No, I do not." he sighed. "Tetcon Red is constantly gaining profits and spending those profits on our research. If we fall short by that kind of currency you were carrying, we could lose days, weeks of research."

"I know who took it though!" he begged, not paying attention to the fact that the chair was turning around. "Let me go find them Mr. G! I promise that I'll-"

A thin beam of ki shot through the middle of his forehead, cutting off his offer as his limp body fell backwards to the ground.

With his wrinkled hand falling back to the arm rest of the chair, he faced his desk, noting the folder Hennigan had placed prior to his unannounced execution.

Opening the folder he noted the individuals who made off with the bag. More pictures towards the young girl, though with the cap on her and the photos being from behind, she was difficult to identify. The few shots of the young man with the black hair however intrigued him. He paid no attention to the taller male next to him, he had never seen him before. But this young man he had heard of, and was glad he could finally start putting a face with the description his executives had given him.

"Looks like I found our trouble makers." he said to himself, furrowing his eyebrows together at the photos laid before him.

"Janice." he tapped his phone, connecting him to his secretary.

"Yes Mr. G?"

"Contact Mr. Tao for me, tell him it is urgent and that I will pay him to simply bless me with his presence."

"Right away, sir."

"And Janice. Send a clean up crew to my office."

"Is it one of those clean ups?"

"Yes."

"Very well, Mr. G, I'll send a crew up now."

**X X X**

Going out and buying bread was starting to become a serious hassle, especially for Janelle. With Andrew cleaning around the orphanage and Ma not being able to do much by herself, groceries were her chore for the night, and had been for the past couple of weeks since she last saw Raiza. She didn't mind the walk, but it was always... men.

"Ohh baby!" whistled an older man with a leather jacket, clearly a biker by his appearance. She passed him, but he wasn't planning on letting her ignore him. "Where is a smokin' pair a legs like you headin' without no man?"

She quickly wiggled her way off of him. "None of your business. And for god's sake, brush your teeth. I didn't realize people took that Ke$ha song so seriously by brushing with a bottle of Jack."

He winced at the insult. He was going to teach this bitch a lesson, and what a better time than now? Sure all of his buddies were inside loading up on beer, but that just meant more ass for him when he got his way with her.

"What a mouth you've got." he taunted back, grabbing her wrist with one hand and her waist with the other. "I can't wait to see how well you work it."

Janelle's reflexes were quick. Nothing fancy, but definitely enough to send a man over twice her weight flying. With a quick knee to his stomach, she jumped over him while he grasped his stomach in pain. She wrapped her legs around his neck and flung him away from her, crashing into the window of the bar, not knowing she had just disturbed the man's entire biker gang.

"What the fuck?"

"Oh shit, there's glass in my beer!"

"Get that bitch!"

Janelle panicked. Guess she would have to get the groceries in the morning. She took off, lucky to have a small head start over them as she turned corner at the end of the block.

_Damn it, why couldn't I have just been a boy, or just ugly?_

What she hadn't counted on was the revving of motorcycles as her enemies flung around the corner, cutting off cars as they quickly caught up to her.

Before she could reach the end of the block, two bikers cut her off, forcing her to turn right into an alley, gambling her chances of finding a ladder or anything to escape.

The fact that it was dark discouraged her from even trying, but she had no other choice. She tripped over a random box, quickly getting to her feet as she finally reached the end of the alley. She squinted her eyes and could see a ladder hanging halfway down. She had to jump, but she figured she could make it.

"Looks like you're stuck there missy." one of the thugs said, patting a club to his hand.

"Hey come on Mitch, don't beat her skull in too badly." one of the others said.

"No worries brother, I won't tenderize her too much."

"Gonna show her some tender meat in a second though!" one of the others shouted, causing the rest of them to sickly chuckle as they approached her.

She was trapped, she knew it. There was no going back, she had to fight.

The one in the front smirked as he exhaled the smoke from his cigarette. "Come on baby, play nice and we promise we'll treat you right."

"Fuck you." she snapped.

"Haha! You will be soon!"

He quickly ran towards her, hands ready to grab hold so he could violate her in his own twisted ways, but he stopped, taking a sharp turn into an open dumpster before landing inside with his legs sticking up.

"He what the hell?" one of the bikers shouter.

In front of Janelle landed her brother, taking a stance in front of her.

"Andrew."

"You were taking too long."

She smirked, his sense of humor always made bad situations tolerable.

"What, your boyfriend came to help you out?"

"Boyfriend? Please, are you hicks too far inbred to tell we're siblings?"

"You little shit!" one of them shouted as he rushed him, spinning a chain around as he swung at him.

Andrew easily ducked underneath the swipe, opening his palm as he planted it harshly against his stomach, sending him back several feet onto his back.

"Get that fucking kid!"

One by one they attacked the black haired twin, each one quickly put away as he nimbly jumped around one, taking another one down, and back to the one he dodged until only one remined.

The same one who originally grabbed his sister.

"Pretty slick, ain't ya, kid?"

Andrew glared daggers at the last one. He was in his forties, fifties maybe. A beer gut and a leather jacket clearly too small for him, but what worried him now was the pistol he saw him pulling out of his holster.

"Dodge this!"

But what Andrew failed to notice was the direction of the bullet. He wasn't even talking to him.

_Oh no! He's not even aiming for me!_

She was too far from him, he wouldn't be able to push her out of the way, so he did the only thing he could.

_**BANG **_

His arms still spread, he hunched over. Janelle took but a moment to realize what had just happened, then, she shuddered before screaming for her brother.

But that was when he took his only chance he had to get this guy. He had to protect his sister, no matter what.

Slowly, he raised his right hand, his index finger pointed right at the biker still gloating his victory.

"Still standing?"

"Dodon Ray."

The thin yellow blast of ki traveled straight from his finger, piercing straight through the heart of the biker, the force knocking him onto his back, where he would stay as his life quickly came to an end.

"You okay?"

"Andrew!"

"What?... Come on, don't scream, I'm right here." he chuckled, unable to feel how much blood he was loosing. A second later, he fell forward.

Janelle quickly caught her brother, tears filling her eyes. She had to get him to a hospital now, or he wouldn't make it. Lucky for her, a pedestrian was walking by when she saw the bikers sprawling about, and the young girl cradling her brother.

"Oh my god! Are you okay lady?" called the man.

She shot her head around. Good, someone who could get help. "Please. My brother's been shot!"

"Okay, okay, I'll call 911. Keep pressure on it!"

**X X X**

"Have the funds been transferred to my account, 'Mr. G'?"

The C.E.O nodded his head, noting the assassin's tone of voice. "Your service record has not diminished, even after your unfortunate confrontation with Goku."

"Yes, well, technology is quite proficient these days. Now then, you understand for such short notice I will have to charge for convenience."

The owner snickered as he opened his checkbook. "How much?"

"Ten billion each; especially this much since I don't do live contracts. One billion for such short notice, and five million for my audience as your secretary assured me of."

"Not a problem at all." he happily signed down his large deposit to the assassin.

"I will get started immediately. But first, if you would provide me with the information."

"Of course, Mr. Tao."

Tao's red scanners beeped for a moment, registering the photos. The two teenagers, he recognized them. No, he knew who they were.

"I see. Easy enough." he smiled. "I expect the funds to be transferred to my account once I have brought them back to you."

"I'll see to it that it's transferred right now."

"Thank you."

**X X X**

Several hours later, the buzzing of electricity and sparking of tools kept the laboratory busy as a man kept working diligently on an assignment.

"Another failure." he griped as he shoved a naked man's body off of the table. "19, get rid of it."

"Yes Dr. Gero."

The eccentric clown quickly lifted the body off the ground as he carried it off to be harvest. Even though dubbed failed, he still had some uses for it.

"There's a bridge, I know there is." he thought out loud. "Completely synthetic designs just won't cut it. There's such a limit to their potential. But half organics... ahh the possibilities!" he smiled.

His grin widened as he gazed towards the end of the room, a large tank filled to the top with liquid. Inside, a small lizard-like embryo floated inside.

"But nothing... no, nothing is going to stop me from achieving my _real_ goal." he returned to his work, effortlessly placing another dead human on the steel table before hooking them up with dozens of wires across the body.

"Let's get it right this time."

**X X X**

A knock at the door caught Chi-Chi's attention. Placing the dishes she was cleaning down, she went to see who it was.

"Oh. Raiza." she was surprised. She was sure he hadn't planned on coming back.

"Hello ma'am." he nodded. "I'm looking for my uncle."

"Goku's taking a bath right now. Just go around to the back of the house, you can't miss it."

"Thank you." he politely replied before excusing himself.

Chi-Chi watched him as he ventured round to where Goku was bathing, as expected, he shouted and jumped back at the sight of Goku in a barrel with a live fire underneath it.

_I don't think Goku will ever understand how weird that is._ she smiled.

"This is a nice surprise." Goku said, arms hanging on the edge of the barrel. "Chi-Chi told me you took off a few weeks ago as soon as you got up, but I could still feel your energy throughout the time you were gone. I was wondering if you were ever going to come back."

"Uncle Kakarot I..." he sighed. "I'll just wait till you're out of that barrel."

"Huh? How come?"

"It's... weird." he stepped back. "Look, I'll just wait in the front."

"No, that's fine, the fire's dying down and I've been out here for a while anyway." he said, immediately hoping out of the barrel.

Goku paid no mind to his nephew as he walked over to his sleeping clothes and slid them on over him. Yawning, he turned to him. "So?"

"So what?"

"Not gonna try and kill me this time?"

At first he was sure his uncle was insulting him, but he could feel it in his tone he was only half serious by it. They stared at each other for a moment longer, their resemblance was unmistakable. If Goku wanted, he could call him his own son and people would believe it. The only thing different was how he carried himself. Goku and Gohan were laid back, easygoing and loved fun. Whereas with Raiza, from the short time he's seen him, he's always been on edge. Stiff, paranoid, ready to fight at the drop of a hat. That much stress on someone so young wasn't healthy, age aside, it wasn't healthy for anyone.

He was completely defenseless, he could feel that now. How easy it would be to just blast him and get it over with.

_But he didn't do it._

_Fool! You're going to let your father's killer just stand there when you can avenge his name now?_

_But the Namek..._

_What would you have done?_

He didn't realize how gritted his teeth were until Goku's face furrowed in concern. Then, he did something his nephew was not expecting.

He walked right up to him, and held his arms out.

"Raiza. I know you still hold that anger against me. Even though Piccolo may have delivered the shot that ended your father's life, we were still family, and in some cases... I should have listened to him. But I didn't, and I'm sorry to have hurt you like this."

Immediately Raiza's ki flared up, his white aura surrounding him at the sound of his father's name being mentioned in his presence.

"You and your father had a special bond, something I will never understand. It was not my place to engage him with the intent to kill him. But please understand, since you do not have a son, the pain that it caused _me_ when I thought my only child was going to be slaughtered like a cow in front of me. By my own flesh and blood."

His mind fought against himself, thousands of voices stating their reasons for hating Kakarot so much, but also for saying this blame is over with, needs to be over with.

All the frustration, all the anger, the loneliness. How often he wanted to die because he had nothing and no one. Only kept alive by his hate.

Whether he wanted it or not, it shaped him to how he was. Yet now... things had changed. He had expected to kill him. Torture him, break him emotionally and physically, then finally butcher him in the most cynical way possible.

But he couldn't do it. Not anymore.

"I'm sorry."

Raiza fell to his knees when he heard that, his ki flashing high above him now. He grabbed the ground, noting how it shook beneath him. His hair spiked up, straight, but still slanted to the right where it was mostly collected. His eyes, black irises slowly faded away as they turned completely white.

"Why... why couldn't I!"

_No way!_ Goku thought as he watched the impossible happening before his eyes. One or two things could happen: he could transform and fight him, in which case he really wasn't sure if he could hold him off, even if he himself transformed. Or two, he would pass out from the stress he was putting on himself. Such a young age, all that stress at once was probably too much for him to take at once. It could kill him.

"I wanted to save him. I wanted to be there right before he died, and save him. Just like he protected me all these years!"

Finally, his eyes began coming to, in a green color Goku recognized all too well.

"Why was I so weak? Why was I so far away?" he sobbed to himself, his hair flashing now. Gold, then black. Gold, then black again.

_**You know you shouldn't be out this late training. You know how the Ginyu Force likes their private time to train.**_

_**Nonsense, don't let that buffoon, Cui, call you weak. I haven't seen that scoundrel do an assignment in months, he's soft!**_

_**I push you so you can surpass me! You don't deserve to be third-class for your life, don't you get it? Your mother was an elite, and I know you can be so much more than I! Now try harder!**_

_**Zarbon! If you EVER challenge me in front of my son again, I'll shove that tiara of yours so far up your ass you'll shit silver for weeks!**_

_**Don't you get it, son? A parent's dream IS their child's! You will not grow up a slave like I had to, you will become someone! Not because I will it, but because you deserve a life above this!**_

_**Some day, I know we'll be free from this. **_

"WHY! WHY..." his eyes pierced into the night sky as he shouted. "WHY COULDN'T I SAVE YOUUUUU!"

A gold aura shrouded around him, enveloping him as his shouts were heard, and the aura around him, exploded.

Goku shut his eyes as his head tilted. Did he do it?

"What... power!" he said.

Yet this unleashing of energy did not harm the environment. It was simply light, a notice, that something had happened.

When the smoke cleared, Raiza's hands still gripped into the earth, digging deep into surface as his tears dripped into the openings of the ground. His sobs were loud, regretful of what he lost, and how he failed to protect it. But Goku paid no mind to that. All that he saw, all he could feel was awe.

But in that very moment, he lost it. His hair fell down, his eyes returned to normal, and he slowly wobbled over to the side from exhaustion. His uncle was quick to catch him, he knew he wasn't too weak to ascend to the level, but maintaining that form... Goku was still wondering how he himself held that form for so long against Frieza.

He clenched onto his shirt, burying his face into it as he sobbed, exhausted, but not enough to sleep. A miserable state.

And all Goku did was hold him. It was over, he had finally let go, he could feel it. All the years of hate and angst, it was being used to drench his shirt, but it didn't bother him. Not far away, he could see his wife and son watching. They felt it too, after what had just happened, he would be a different person.

**X X X**

"Ma, look at the picture I drew!"

The old woman sat in a rocking chair, finally ending her day as one of the small children came to sit on her lap.

"Let's see here... oh wow! It looks great, Mikael. You're quite the artist!"

"Thanks Ma, I've been saving up to buy a new box of pencils for my drawings. I almost have enough!"

"Very good, you should show your big brother and sister when they get back."

"Okay!" he happily nodded before trotting off, leaving her alone in the cafeteria.

She stretched her aching bones and stood, walking back to her room which was fortunately so close.

She stepped inside, but froze as she heard her window door creaking. She didn't leave it open, she knew she didn't.

"Is someone there?" she called, attempting to keep her fear held down. She locked the door behind her. Whatever was in here, if there was, she didn't want it getting out and hurting the children.

"Veronica. It has been quite some time."

That voice sent chills down her spine. She remembered it all too well, the first day she heard it almost twenty years ago.

Slowly, two feet, step by step came forward, finally revealing in the light of the crescent moon.

"You... What... what is it you want?" she examined him, his cybernetic body petrified her. As if him being a full human wasn't frightening enough, this iron shell of an assassin was even worse. The evilest man, with the evilest thing to make him even crueler: money. "What in god's name happened to you?"

"A little accident. Needless to say, I don't fancy grenades nor the Turtle Hermit school too much anymore." he smirked as he crossed his arms.

"My children. Give them to me."

**End Chapter 5**

**Were you expecting THAT at the end? Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I apologize if at times this seems quite rushed, but I don't feel the need to dwell too much on the past if we're moving forward into a rewrite. Don't want to bore you guys off before the action REALLY starts! Anyway, review away. See you guys soon. -PD**


	6. Chapter 6

"You... what?" the old woman questioned. Surely he wasn't serious. She hadn't seen him in over twenty years and this is the first thing he requests?

"Has your age finally dampened your hearing? Where are Andrew and Janelle, I can't be bothered to waste my time in this rat hole, I fear the poverty will infect me if I do not leave soon."

"You haven't spoken to either of them since you left them here, and now you want to take them back? How selfish, Tao! These kids are a blessing from the heavens, they are. They're the reason why I haven't given up on this orphanage."

"Ah? So you have more mice in this shelter of yours?" he smirked.

"No thanks to that wretched company, displacing families and children alike." then something hit her. Why was someone like Tao searching for his children all of a sudden? A mercenary such as him was a gun for hire, so why the sudden interest?

"Tell me why you want to find them so badly."

"No, I don't think that's necessary, old woman. My business is my own, and time is money, now I suggest you cooperate before you start on my nerves. I won't hesitate to cut you down if you're keeping them from me."

"I don't know where they are. They hadn't come back from going to get groceries... come to think of it, it's been hours. Where could they be?" she started wondering to herself.

Before she knew it, Tao was at the window, kneeling out as he contemplated the most logical place to check. If they went for groceries and something happened, the only sensible place they could be would be...

"Ah yes, so they're there." his scanners picked up. "It will be good to catch up before I carry my delivery."

"You what?" she heard. _No! I get it now! He's working with them, he must be, and he's going to take them!_

"That's what this is all about, isn't it?" she realized. "You... you monster! You would betray your own children, for money?"

"Mm, quite a bit of money, mind you. Now now, I take no pleasure in doing this, but a job is a job, and the price is right."

"But they're your children!" she shouted. Glancing over at her desk, she saw the revolver she kept for protection under a stack of papers. Tao had his back to her, this was her chance.

For her age, she was rather quick; working with children all day for as long as she had been somehow kept her in a bit of shape. The gun was up and aimed right down to his back. She'd stop him, she didn't care if he was their father, he was evil, a demon in human form.

_**Click**_

"How sloppy." Tao sneered. "Poor fool, you can't even tell the difference between the weight of a gun that is loaded," he held his hand out in a fist before opening it, six bullets dropping to the ground. "and when it is empty."

"N-No!" she pulled the trigger again, registering another click as the mercenary hopped off the ledge and slowly approached her. "Stay back! Don't come any closer!"

"Oh Veronica." he snickered. "It's such a shame you have to die. I'll just charge Dr. Gero for another head. I know that man is more than generous; good clients are so hard to come by these days."

_Dr. Gero?_ "The one who worked with the Red Ribbon Army? That Dr. Gero?" she gasped. How could she be so stupid? Mr. G, Dr. Gero! "Dr. Gero was just using Tetcon Red as a front to experiment on those poor people!"

"Oh dear, it seems I've said too much, but you are correct. Now then," he smirked, phasing out of the old woman's sight before she felt a hot pushed from her back, then in the front. She looked down as her pain settled in, the mechanical hand peering out from her stomach. "it's time you finally stopped getting in my way."

He retracted his hand, shoving her over as she bled like a pig across the floor.

"What a shame you decided to get in my way again, although I would have eventually killed you anyway. You should thank me for relieving you of these worthless duties."

Then an idea hit him. He reached over to the phone on the destroyed desk and picked up the phone, dialing in the number to the hospital.

**X X X**

"He's stabilized, but we're going to keep him for a few more days just to be safe." the doctor told the female twin.

"He'll be okay, right?"

"So far yes, it definitely looks like it. You got him here before an infection spread. As long as his body keeps accepting the antibiotics and he gets his rest, he should be out in a couple of weeks."

"Thank you so much, doctor." she bowed her head.

The doctor turned to leave the room before being stopped by a nurse holding a phone. After a quick conversation, the doctor answered it.

"Yes? This is Dr. Tan."

He pulled the phone away from his ear as he walked over to Janelle, handing the phone to her.

"It's for you."

Confused, she took the phone as the doctor left the room and held it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Janelle! Oh my dear, you need to come home, it's horrible!"

"Ma?" she asked, her worries now flaring high. "What's the matter?"

"Oh please hurry back! Something is wrong! Where are you!"

"It's okay, I'll be home soon. Please just stay where you are!" she quickly hung up the phone. She gazed at her brother, sleeping peacefully.

"I'll be back." leaning in, she kissed his forehead. "Be strong for me."

She placed the phone on the desk next to her brother's bed as she quickly rushed out of the room, and out of the hospital.

Tao simply chuckled at how quickly he fooled her as he set the phone down. Ah the perks of being cybernetic. Changing your voice on command, it's no wonder he became so much more respected.

She could really run when she needed to. Whatever the problem was, Ma sounded scared. She wouldn't let anything happen to her, whatever it was.

Finally reaching the run down school building, she stopped and looked around. Nothing seemed to be wrong on the outside. What could the problem be?

Too busy worrying about the situation, she failed to feel the presence of the man behind her, his eyes glowing red as he held his hand out to chop her into unconsciousness.

"Just as gullible as ever."

**X X X**

"Absolutely not!" roared the great ogre.

King Kai sighed, he figured he would get that answer.

"What you are asking of me is something I simply cannot do, never mind the fact that I would never consider the redemption of someone who not only lived a life of evil, but died with zero remorse in his heart! It just cannot be done!"

"Yes King Yemma, and I respect your authority on the matter. I'm only asking for a moment alone with him. Goku told me it would be worth it and-"

"Kai you try my patience! Look at this paperwork I have to deal with? I'm behind on everything, the line never dies down, and the _last_ thing I need is the Grand Kai getting after me because I let you down into HFIL while I'm still locking people up!"

King Yemma took a look around, not realizing while he ranted, he paid no attention to the short blue kai.

"King Kai?" he asked, looking under his desk.

**X X X**

"Y-You're sure King Yemma said you could be down here?" asked one of the blue ogres as he held a large ring of keys up to a heavily enforced door.

"Yes yes, of course. I _am_ King Kai after all, remember?"

"Right..." finally fumbling onto the last key, he unlocked the door, opening it and entering first as the northern ruler followed.

"Never seen this place before. King Yemma likes his secrets." King Kai thought out loud.

"This is a secret prison. We keep some of our worst here, not measured by how strong they are, but how sinister they were in their lives and how they died."

"I see. So you may not keep the strongest ones here, but you definitely keep the worst ones."

"Something like that. King Yemma has his reasons for locking different people up, even though I don't really understand them at times."

Passing the cells of different prisoners, the short kai glanced around, some of these people he actually recognized.

Oh, this was going to be good. He glanced to his right as he noticed a short white alien sitting with its legs crossed.

"Well, well." King Kai smirked. "If it isn't Frieza. You look good behind bars."

His eyes shot up, firing eye beams to the cell, only to be deflected by the barriers of the cell.

"Oh my, no wonder they were able to keep you locked in so tightly. Are they treating you okay? Got everything you need?" he snickered. He shouldn't be so rude, but it was Frieza, he wasn't missing a chance to poke fun at him.

"Open these doors, and I will surely have everything I need then." the alien smiled. "Because I will gut you the second I get out of here! Do you hear me?"

"Yeah yeah." he waved him off, snorting in his laughter as he caught up to the guard who was nearing the end of the hallway.

The last cell in the right corner. The guard stopped and pointed over. "That's him."

King Kai stepped over to the cell. In the corner was a man sitting down, his arms hugging his knees, his hair so long it covered him almost completely.

"Raditz?"

The name caught his attention as his empty eyes gazed over to meet the kai's.

"Who wants to know."

"Well obvious I do." he chuckled, catching a snort as per usual. "I've come to act as your lawyer."

"My what?" he asked.

"Oh that's right, due process never existed on Vegeta..." he thought out loud.

"I don't know what you want, but if this is some type of joke, you kais have really sunk to a new level to pester prisoners behind bars." Raditz scoffed. "Just leave me."

"Oh don't give me that, you're even more stubborn than your brother." he pointed to the door, glancing at the guard. "Let him out."

"What?" Raditz and the guard both asked in unison.

"Or I could do it. These barriers aren't too tricky if you know how to turn them off. Now then how do I..."

"Hold on a second!" the guard spoke up. "Now I KNOW King Yemma doesn't want that happening. This guy's one of those saiyans that ripped the galaxy apart!"

"Yes yes, I'm aware of that. But this is a special case... I'm taking legal partnership with Raditz to appeal his sentence."

"Wh-What? Wait a second I'm calling King Yemma!"

"Go ahead. I'll wait." he stared, confident in his assured victory.

The ogre walked up to the phone on the wall, dialing the respective numbers as he quickly began conversing with King Yemma on the other line.

"Hello, King Yemma? Yes. No everything's fine, but I have King Kai here in solitary. He said something about... What's that? Yes sir, he's right in front of his cell right now. I thought you didn't approve? Oh, really? I didn't know that. Yes sir, I'll bring him right up."

He cleared his throat as he hung the phone up.

"Well, looks like he _is_ entitled to an appeal every two years. He just hit the marker about a month ago." he pulled his massive key chain off of his belt as he began shifting through the keys, finally finding the right one.

"There we go."

As he unlocked the cell, Raditz's hands were bound by cuffs that slid around his hands.

"What the? What have you done, ogre?" Raditz growled, already not liking what was happening.

"It's automatic." he opened the cell door, motioning him to come exit. "So long as the registered prisoner is alive or has been discharged, they will be bound to these cuffs. They completely keep your energy at the lowest point to where you can function, so no escaping I'm afraid."

He grunted as he rose to his feet, following the ogre and the short kai out of the prison.

**X X X**

The weeks passed, and they soon turned to months. At the mark of the second month, a restless Andrew woke in his hospital bed as the sun punished him for staying awake as late as he did.

He waited up for his sister again, but like before, and for quite some time, she did not come. Things had to have been hard back at the orphanage. More reason for him to get out, and lucky for him...

"Mr. Pai Pai, how are you feeling?" asked Dr. Tan.

"Nothing's wrong, although I wish I didn't have the window seat every now and again."

"Good... that's good. Let's see here... ah yes, the tests came back from last week. Looks like the internal bleeding as clotted completely. Your physical therapists have reported good things."

"I'm just a kid who doesn't like being sick." he smirked. "How much longer do I need to stay if everything came back green?"

"Actually that's what I came here to tell you. You're actually free to go today if you don't feel the need to stay any longer."

Quickly getting out of bed and changing back into his old clothes, Andrew definitely answered the doctor's question.

"Right then, if you'll just sign this paperwork I'll be right back... seems I forgot the paperwork to fill out your healthcare provider."

As soon as the doctor left the room Andrew knew he had to get out. Health insurance? Yeah right, all of that money was going to the orphanage, and to eating more than once a day; there was no way he could pay for the outrageous bills he knew he would be faced with.

_Maybe a window seat wasn't such a bad idea after all._ he thought.

About a minute later the doctor returned, only to have an earnest look of shock when the window to the room was open. He quickly rushed to the end and glanced down, surely he didn't jump, they were too high up!

"Nurse!" he called as he ran back into the hallway.

Above the hospital, Andrew held his hand over his forehead as the wind tossed his hair across his face.

"I guess I should be grateful my old man taught me the few things he did." he reasoned as he floated his way back home.

**X X X**

Something felt wrong to him as he touched down next to a rusted merry go round. Even though everyone stayed under the school, it felt quiet. Way too quiet. That or he hadn't been home in such a long time he forgot how secluded it was from the rest of the world.

However his suspicion grew higher as he ventured downstairs, the hallway leading to the cafeteria dead silent.

"Hel-" he stopped himself. _No wait. If something happened the last thing I want to do is give myself away... something's up._

Slowly creaking the double doors open, he looked around, not spotting anything, not until he opened the door completely.

The doors closed behind him, and his eyes met with... he couldn't even be sure of what it was.

The pink robe, the mark on his chest, the mustache, the ponytail.

And that smile, telling him he was never good enough.

No, he knew.

"You...! What are you doing here?"

With an arrogant smirk, Tao crossed his arms at the distance between them both. "Andrew. It's been a long time, son."

**X X X**

A barrage of ki blasts shot straight towards Raiza. With a loud yell, his kiai obliterated every one that came within two feet of him.

Immediately he sensed it, ducking before his uncle's kick, shooting his elbow up into his gut, only for it to be blocked. Gohan watched from a far as they stood still for a moment, and then, disappeared.

Though they could not be seen, they were definitely heard. Every couple of seconds, they would move, again, and again, until Gohan could finally see them.

"Whoa! They're moving so fast I can hardly keep up!" he thought out loud.

They reappeared in front of the young saiyan as their fists battled each other for control, each barraging each other, but to no avail as they phased away again.

"_Goku!"_

His attention drifted for that brief moment, allowing his nephew to land a knee to his gut, following an elbow down into his back as it shot him down.

He rebounded back up but held his hand up for a time out.

"Hold on!" he called. "King Kai? Is that you?"

"_Yep, it's me. Now then, I did that thing you asked, now it's time for you to make your way over here. We need you for a... well, you need to testify."_

"Testi... what?" his face earnest with confusion.

"_TESTIFY YOU IDIOT! NOW GET OVER HERE!"_ King Kai barked.

Suddenly Goku's face lit up with excitement. He knew what this meant. "Okay, be right there!" glancing up to his nephew, he waved to him. "Gotta take care of some things. Train with Gohan, I'll be back soon!"

"Where are you-" he asked, cut off as his uncle suddenly vanished. "-going?"

**X X X**

Simply focusing on King Kai's energy, he wasn't expecting to find himself teleported into the middle of a court building. A gigantic wooden door stood in front of him, hundreds of ogres, spirits, and other creatures busy moving around going place to place in professional attire for those fortunate enough to keep their bodies.

"There you are!" King Kai said behind him.

"King Kai? Where am I?"

"We're at the appeal's court. You've just stepped into one of the craziest places in existence, and definitely not one of the most liked."

"I... see." Goku stood still in awe of the door in front of him.

"Here, put this on."

Goku glanced to see a brown suit now being pushed onto him as he took it, holding it with a confused look in his eyes.

"What am I suppose to do with this?"

"Wear it, what do you think, I just give suits out for free?"

"But... why?"

"You're going to be testifying for your brother."

"I what?"

"Hate this place already?" he smiled. "Raditz, or anyone who committed multitudes of evil throughout their lives are incapable of being brought back to life, even by the Dragon Balls unless granted an appeal of their sentence. Only the Grand Kai can allow this, and I can tell you this right now: only one person in the past two hundred years has gotten their appeal."

Goku frowned at the last part. "So he's waiting for us already?"

"Yep, now hurry up and put that suit on, you'll be called up in a minute."

**X X X**

"One last question Mr. Raditz." said an obnoxious red ogre playing the part of the opposition for his appeal. "You said you were bound to work for Frieza's company for the duration of your lifetime, yet our sources tell us, and show us you rather enjoyed your work-"

"Objection! You can't bring in blood traits when you're discussing issues of morales" King Kai shouted out.

In the judges seat, the hipster Grand Kai moaned to himself before his ruling. "Sustained. Mr. Sashta, keep it cool and leave the race out of it, ya dig?"

"Of course, your honor."

"Saiyans are thrilled by battle, I won't lie and say the idea of crushing an entire civilization wasn't exciting, but I did not choose it for myself." Raditz said, cuffed to the seat.

"Of course you didn't." the prosecutor smugly smiled. "But isn't it strange how in many instances you even _volunteered_ for these missions, some of them by yourself?"

"That's not the same-"

"You enjoyed your assignments, the ones by yourself, yes?"

"You don't-"

"How many people would you kill on average, you say, Mr. Raditz?"

"SHUT UP!" he snarled back to the lawyer. "If you would LET me finish my answer, and if you REALLY knew me like you said you did by your research, you would know that I was not only a slave to Frieza and the rest of the PTO, I was a father! And with my rates I could barely feed myself, let alone my son!"

"I see. No further questions."

The lawyer took his seat back to his bench, and two guards came to escort Raditz back to his bench next to King Kai.

"Don't worry, I've got a plan." King Kai whispered.

"I hope so, I don't like the idea of sitting in my own feces anymore."

"Your honor," King Kai cleared his throat as he stood up. "if it pleases the court, I have one last person to call to the bench."

Grand Kai shifted his sunglasses, he had a feeling King Kai was up to something. "Go ahead."

"The defense calls Raditz's brother, Goku, to the stand."

The wooden doors opened as almost everyone sitting down turned to see who stepped through. A slick looking Goku wearing a brown suit with a white shirt and black tie stepped through the pews of people and to the stand, where a guard met him.

"Kakarot?" Raditz whispered in surprise. "What's he doing here?"

"Please raise your right hand." after a second, the saiyan complied before the guard continued. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you Grand Kai?"

"I do."

"Please take a seat."

**End Chapter 6**

**So now Raditz is back in the picture. Yay! Kind of. We'll see how this trial goes. Never thought I'd see Goku on the stand, even though I'm the one who wrote it lol. And how about that thing with Tao? Pretty sleezy of him, getting rid of his own children for money, but we'll touch up more on that, and everything else, in the next chapter. Anyway, review away! -PD**


	7. Chapter 7

**So I'm pretty surprised I've been getting the type of feedback that I have been. (I know right now it isn't a lot, and that's my point :P) Just wanted to say thanks for your reviews and suggestions, they're always welcome and I always read each and every single one, usually more than once. I promise... I'm not a creep.**

**More responses! Yay!**

**ShadowMario3: Yep, the idea randomly came to me. I was thinking, "Hm, how could I make the Android's past as fucked up as possible in the end? How about one of the meanest sons of bitches turns them in, and ends up being their parent?" And after that, Tao was a no brainer. I thought about maybe using Dr. Gero as the parent, but I think Tao made more sense so that way I could give Andrew (17) and Janelle (18) some fighting parts and it would make more sense. You'll see some nifty stuff in this chapter pertaining to that. I'm gonna have a lot of fun with Goku in court... I mean how often are the words "Goku" and "court" used in a sentence? Exactly!**

**Juliedoo: Thanks for the words, I never thought my stuff was very appealing, but it's nice to know some people think otherwise. I'm glad you like Raiza, I've been trying to make him as 'real' as I can, if you catch my drift. I honestly couldn't ever tell the difference between the comma and period at the end of continuous dialogue. (No one ever corrected me either, so I just did it that way up until now.) I'm glad you were able to fill me in with drilling into me like "YOU DON'T DO IT LIKE THIS! DO IT LIKE THISSSSSSS!" Can you tell I'm not a flame fan? =P And Raiza and Raditz's roll will have an impact, so much so, that I may have to bring in a few other villains... hint hint. Hint hint? Yes... hint hint.**

"State your name for the record." the prosecutor stood, making his way to Goku.

"Goku."

"JUST Goku?"

"Yeah?"

Annoyed, the red ogre fixed his glasses. "I see. How long have you known your brother Raditz?"

"Oh, not that long actually! Maybe... a couple of hours?" he wondered, scratching his head.

King Kai slapped his forehead. This was going to be a disaster. He had no time to coach him on how to handle court ethics.

"A couple of hours, is that right?"

Goku nodded.

"Goku, would you consider your brief relationship with your brother... fulfilling?"

"Objection!" King Kai shot up. "Relevance?"

"I'm simply asking the witness about his relationship with his brother. If he can't be proven credible, then we should dismiss him."

"I think it's my job to decide who gets dismissed," Grand Kai replied. "King Kai your objection is sustained. Sashta, keep it chill, I'm watching what you say."

"Of course, your honor."

"Well um..." Goku paused. He glanced over at King Kai who was waving his hands, shaking his head quickly like he was trying to say something to him. Raditz was too embarrassed to say anything, keeping his head to the side and his teeth gritted.

"I have no idea! Most of time I was too busy fighting him and telling him to give me back my son!" he laughed, causing King Kai and his brother to fall over, along with everyone else within the room.

Sashta picked himself up, he had this case in the bag. He just knew. "I see. Is it safe to say that Raditz _stole_ your son? Please be aware that you _are_ under oath."

"I'm what?"

"You're under oath?" the lawyer asked, honestly unsure how he could have slipped up such a simple sentence.

"That oath you took," Grand Kai interrupted. "You know, tell the whole truth, stuff like that. He's just reminding you in case you were thinking about lying."

"Oh! I thought you meant _Underoath_! You see my son Gohan loves that band, but Chi-Chi won't let him listen to it so I have to make sure she's out of the house so that-"

Raditz and King Kai fell out of their chairs again after just getting up.

"Hey are you guys okay?" Goku asked, completely unaware of what he had done.

"Idiot!" Raditz shouted. "Does my freedom mean nothing to you?"

"Of course it does! I just-"

"Alright y'all!" Grand Kai slammed his mantel down. "That's enough. Please continue, Sashta."

"Actually, your honor," King Kai raised his hand. "motion for a recess?"

"Hm. Okay, granted. Court will resume after a fifteen minute recess."

The red ogre smirked to himself. This guy was a complete idiot! He wouldn't even need to make a closing argument and he would have Raditz back behind bars before the day was out.

Outside, King Kai had to control himself from strangling Goku.

"Don't you take this seriously at all?" he scorned his student.

"Of course I do," Goku simply stated. "I was just answering his question."

"Kakarot! How hard did you hit your head when you went to Earth? Did you hit it again after I died?"

"No."

"I'm not going to be released if you keep speaking out like that! Don't you get it? This isn't a gag, this is my freedom, a freedom that you _suddenly_ want for whatever reason-"

"I found Raiza."

Raditz froze as his eyes fixed on his brother. What did he just say?

"It's true, about three months ago he showed up to Earth looking for me."

A brief moment of silence overtook the three of them in the hustle and bustle of the court lobby. A name he hadn't heard in such a long time, yet someone he always thought about. He was so sure he had died.

His heart sank, his son... was alive? He had to get out now. He wouldn't allow himself to stay dead anymore, even if he had to fight his way out.

"Where... is he?"

"He's actually still there. He came after me as soon as he showed up and we ended up fighting. And let me tell ya... he's no pushover."

"That's the whole reason why I wanted to find you now," Goku placed an arm on his shoulder. "Raiza told me about you. You know it's funny, after everything was said and done, I had an entirely new view of you. I only wished you had told me about Frieza from the start, I would've gladly helped then."

"I see." Raditz said with a heavy calm in his voice.

"Something bad is happening. Or it will happen. In a couple of years a pair of androids are gonna show up and start destroying everything."

"What? How?"

"I don't know, but Vegeta's son from the future came and warned us about it. None of us were ready for it, and nobody survived because of it. Vegeta, Piccolo, they didn't stand a chance."

"And neither did you?" Raditz asked, now curious.

"I died before they attacked. I caught a rare heart virus that was incurable at the time. Lucky for me Trunks remembered it and brought me the antidote they have in that time, so I should be okay."

"Tch. So that's why you need me."

Goku frowned. "No... not really. It's some of the reason, but not all of it," he smiled. "Raiza showed me through his actions and our fight how special you were to him. You did a lot of good things I would have never thought possible. I wanted to do this for him to make up for what happened."

"Ahem." King Kai interrupted. "I know this is quite a moment for you two, but I'm afraid we don't have much time left. Goku, we have _got_ to do something about how you're doing on the stand. You're going to literally be the fall through of this trial if we don't teach you what to do."

"Okay. What do I do?"

"King Kai," Raditz spoke up. "I think I have a way to show him."

"Hm? Go ahead then."

"Kakarot, you're looking at this from the wrong perspective. Listen, you need to try it like this..."

**X X X**

Andrew's fists clenched, his nails close to piercing the skin of his palms as he scowled the man on the other side of the room below him.

"What kind of sick theatrical do you plan on pulling? Showing up now?"

"I am not one for theater, nor am I one for drawing out conversations. Now then, come with me. You're needed."

His authority still rang in his head. How he always used to command him, especially him. But he brushed it off, he wasn't his son anymore. He had no father anymore.

"By what right do you have to command me anymore, you old fool?" he snarled, grabbing the handle of the staircase as he jumped over it to the ground.

"Believe me, nothing is more of a burden than having a right over a failure like you. Though, in the end you will prove to be quite profitable."

As Tao took a step forward, the dim lights in the cafeteria showed Andrew how different his father really was.

"Gah! What... you're a monster!"

"Yes well I most certainly have difficulties in the looks department, no thanks to Goku for that. But it makes no difference. You're coming with me, and that's that."

"Where's Janelle. Tell me where my sister is!"

"You really are quite demanding. You're just like your mother. Plenty of mouth and mind, but never the raw brawn or dedication to follow through."

"Follow through?" he shouted, his anger raising by the second. "You tossed me and my sister out in the rain for Ma to shelter us from. You abused us both, _especially_ my sister, just because she was a woman, and because you thought there was no way she could be tough! You are the very _reason_ I kept training in secret!"

In that moment, Andrew's right index finger came up, already lit with ki as he aimed it towards the man he couldn't even stand to be in the presence of any longer.

"I'm going to kill you old man, and I'm going to get my sister back. I would do the only logical thing at this point and tell me where she is, because whether it's now or later, I _will_ find her!"

"You'll be joining her soon."

"Wha?"

Tao phased away, completely taking the young man off guard. He tried to look, glancing around the cafeteria, now witnessing a horrifying sight.

On the table, on the floor, on the seats, and all over the double door leading into Ma's room, his mind would be scarred for life.

Bodies. Blood, entrails of what he knew were the younger children smeared across the entirety of the room. He shuddered to think his sister was among them, but if his father came to bring him some place, then maybe he took his sister there too. She had to be alive, he wouldn't accept anything else.

"Monster..."

He heard a tap to his right as he turned.

"You monster! You've destroyed everything we've worked for!" he screamed. "DODON RAY!"

Tao smirked as he tilted his head slightly to the left, the beam piercing through the wall. His smirk quickly turned to an annoyed grunt as a thin cut formed on what little flesh he had on his face.

Andrew chuckled. "Glad you decided to come out and play. I've got a lot more where that came from."

Tao laughed. It started as a chuckle, but built, until he was near hysterical.

"Why are you laughing?" Andrew grunted.

"You have no idea how badly you have already lost, stupid boy. Though I am impressed your precision with the Dodon has improved, it's a horrible comparison to mine."

Tao snickered. "You're already getting tired. I can tell. You never did conserve any energy. One two punch and that's it? How amateur indeed."

He knew exactly how to push his son's buttons, and how fortunate he never built to conceal his emotions any.

"You sorry excuse for a father! I'll show you!"

Andrew rushed to him, swinging a kick, easily dodged. He had intermediate control over Crane School fighting at best, something Tao knew like the back of his hand. Ever kick and flurry of punches he saw before it even showed on his shoulders he was going to throw. He slammed a punch, dodged again, lodging his fist into the wall.

Tao stood on top of the barrier of the staircase, looking down upon his son with the utmost disappointment. "Twenty years and you give me such a poor performance. I won't even need to fight back, you'll beat yourself up for me."

Then Andrew did something Tao wasn't expecting after he pulled his arm out of the wall.

He phased away.

"What? Impossible."

But he couldn't find him, his scanners quickly searching for a heat signature.

Then he found him, too close of a call. His leg swung straight to Tao's head, barely ducking in time to avoid it. Imagine his surprise when his son grabbed the railing of the staircase to swing himself around into a powerful double roundhouse, planting straight into the mercenary's chest.

The force was far greater than he expected as he broke through one, two, three walls of the crumbling school building, finally landing in a debris pile of a desks and fax machines.

When he opened his eyes, his son's glare pierced him. He knew now he had to get serious if he wanted to win.

"Father! Do you see now? You brought this on yourself! All those years putting me through the sick hell you called training, and for what? So you could leave us at the orphanage only to butcher Ma twenty years later and the other orphans? You make me sick knowing I share the same blood as you!"

He had definitely improved, ever since he could remember...

_Flashback_

_20 years ago..._

_Master Shen and Janelle watched in silence as Andrew battled and easily defeated another Crane student, two ranks above him._

_Tao examined the fight and after the boy and his son bowed, he stepped up to him._

"_Your form is good, but your hits have no power. You had to rely on throws and grapples to gain the edge over your opponent. You may have won the fight, but you're still a loser in my eyes."_

_Andrew simply sucked it up, though it hurt, he knew that was how his father was._

"_Fight me next."_

"_What?" he asked. "But father, you know I can't beat you."_

"_I don't care, you need to work harder. You won't get anywhere fighting people near your level, you need to aim higher. Now come at me."_

_Andrew glanced over to his sister, she shrugged her shoulders._

"_Uncle Shen?"_

"_Go on." he nodded._

_He took a signature stance all students of the school exhibited, noticing his father not even moving at all._

"_Well? Come."_

_He took a quick dash, aiming for a low kick, only for Tao to jump back. He tried again, low kicking, then resorting to quick jabs, only for him to finally trip and fall flat on his face._

_The other students laughed at him, he could feel his father's disapproving glare on his shoulders._

"_How pathetic. You did so well against someone barely above you, and you can't even land a punch on me."_

"_I'm sorry Father."_

"_I don't want your apologies, I want results," he snapped his fingers as another fighter stepped into the ring. _

_Andrew got up to face a new student. He was weird. Slightly taller than he was, and a third eye distinguished him away from everyone else._

"_Son, this is Tien Shinhan. He's a new student at the academy."_

"_You're putting me against a new student?"_

"_You obviously still lack fundamentals in your technique. Start over and rework your way back up."_

_It angered him to hear that. What would it take to get his father's approval for anything?_

_Tien bowed to his opponent, Andrew doing the same as they began sparring. _

_Much to Tao's irritation, Andrew was hardly getting an edge on Tien. This was maddening to him, he did everything he could to make his son his successor. He was so sure he was the best fighter they had at the school, and now a new student was putting his own son on edge? _

_Tien threw a low kick, which met with nothing. In the air, Andrew tossed a spinning kick, blocked by Tien raising his hand up._

"_Idiot! Your guard!" Tao scowled._

_Andrew didn't see it until the last moment; he had completely forgot to keep his hands up from the amount of power he placed into the kick._

_Tien took advantage of that, landing a shattering punch right into his upper chest, throwing him to the ground. Andrew flipped up, only to meet with a clothesline, then a roundhouse straight into his back, knocking him out of the ring._

"_Andrew!" Janelle called as she rushed to him, kneeling down._

"_Leave him," Tao said._

"_Father?"_

"_I have more important things to deal with. Come, Janelle, your brother has a lot to think about. How pitiful of a fighter he is, though I did find... a new prospect," he noted as Tien bowed, returning to the mat he was kneeling on._

_End Flashback_

"I see," Tao smirked, still laying in the debris. "so, that is what this is all about. Revenge on dear ol' daddy."

"You don't even qualify to be my father, or any father!" Andrew snarled. "You're nothing but a freak, a monster who would even put a price on his own children!"

His outline started to glow a thin stream of gold as Tao's scanners quickly went to pick up a reading on his power level.

"Remarkable..." he thought out loud before standing up, placing his arms behind his back. "I am impressed, son. You certainly learned a lot from your time away from me."

"Don't even call me that, you sick old man!"

"Ah that mouth of yours. You never were like your sister; at least _she_ kept her opinions to herself."

"Stop talking about the family you abandoned! You're worthless to both of us, and I've had just about enough of seeing you alive!"

"Power level 235. Looks like I'll have to start trying," he thought out loud as he ducked under the first. He dashed back, his son quickly catching up as they began exchanging excessive punches and kicks, each one nimbly escaping the others hit and countering with their own.

Tao finally swung, and Andrew ducked. He knew his next move. A swift low swinging kick came, and Tao jumped, breaking through the ceiling and shooting through the next floor as he flew above the school.

"Coward! Running away because you know I'm winning!" he taunted as he shot up after him.

Tao shot a Dodon Ray downward, Andrew quickly shifting to the side as he collided with his father, another ballistic session of fists and kicks taking place as neither planned to give way.

"You can still move," Andrew taunted, dodging another punch. "I'm surprised your batteries haven't run out yet, old man."

"I don't need to move much to avoid your sloppy strikes. I could be asleep and dodge them all the same."

All at once, their fists collided, and their fingers laced as Tao and his son struggled in the air for control.

They were at a stalemate as each one shouted in pain in their attempts to push the other back. Andrew was, as much as Tao didn't want to admit it, stronger than him, but he only knew basics. This is where Tao would win, he knew exactly where to push and where to strike; the puny gap in power made no difference at all.

"You ready to give up yet, robo dad?" Andrew taunted.

"I'm afraid not. I cannot take this lightly anymore," Tao smirked as he phased out of the grip they shared, Andrew tripping slightly as he looked around in the air.

"Why are you toying with me like this?" he angrily called. "When Mom died all I _did_ was look up to you! Then you went and put me and Janelle into the dirt like we were a couple of bones!"

"It's because of YOU she died!"

Tao quickly phased behind Andrew, slamming him with his metallic fist as he heard a crack, his son's horrifying screams a confirmation.

He somersaulted and struck him down to the ground with a drop kick, slowly descending downward to examine the damage.

He laid on his back, his face filled with tears of anger as they overflowed his face.

"Why... us?"

"I do not know, and I do not ask. I am a mercenary for that very reason. I will always fulfill my contract, even if it involves my very own children. You could have learned a thing or two about commitment, though I cannot blame myself for you inheriting your mother's stubbornness."

"But I don't understand... why?"

Tao raised his hand up for a karate chop. "If you do not understand now, then you never will. For that matter..."

His chop came down harsh on Andrew's neck, a gurgling yelp escaped before he fell unconscious.

"You never did."

**X X X**

Goku took a seat from his second run at the bench. They felt comfortable with their chances now that Raditz had a second to talk to him on how to speak to the lawyers.

Think of it as a battle, as he put it.

"Prosecution?" Grand Kai asked.

"Yes, your honor, I have two more who are willing to testify."

"Go ahead."

"The prosecution calls Lord Frieza to the stand."

"WHAT?" Goku and Raditz both shouted in unison.

The wooden doors swung open, a smirking Frieza stepping through the doors and through the pews as he glanced a smile towards the saiyans.

"Hello boys. It's been such a long time."

"This is insane!" Goku shouted. "Your honor, Grand Kai, you're allowing this?"

"It's in the rules, brother. Can't do nothing about it, now take a seat."

Goku couldn't believe it. But his face was nothing compared to his brother's. Raditz's face was flooded with fear, there was just no way to hide it as Sashta approached the bench and took his oath.

"Lord Frieza, can you summarize your experiences with working with Raditz?"

"Oh yes. Raditz was quite the hard worker," he smiled. "So much so I gladly paid him overtime, something some of his co-workers never once volunteered for."

"I see. How often would Raditz work overtime?"

"Oh dear," he snickered. "I don't think I could count that high. The boy _did_ love his job." he laughed.

"I don't get it," Goku whispered to Raditz. "he's doing nothing but compliment you?"

"That's the problem!" he whispered loudly.

"Lord Frieza, were you aware that Raditz had fathered a child when he was employed under you?"

"Oh yes. Raiza was quite a charming young man."

"Thank you. One more question. Did you ever see Raditz in battle yourself, and if you did, could you describe how he was in battle?"

"I had the wonderful opportunity to accompany Raditz on a mission myself. During his annual evaluation he proved to be quite capable of exterminating a race of, what were they called? Ah yes, the Heras."

Raditz stood in a fit of rage, breaking the cuffs holding his feet down.

"That was you, and you know it! The Herans were on a moon off a planet we had already conquered. _You_ wanted to take it and _you_ were the one who destroyed them!"

"Sit down Raditz, I don't want to have to toss you out of here."

"Grand Kai! Can't you see he's lying? This isn't a witness, this is a man who imprisoned me and my son, destroyed my race, killed my father!-"

"Oh Raditz, you're far too modest for your own good, I only did a small bit. I really do owe the credit to you, especially since landing on the moon triggered a, oh what is that adorable transformation you saiyans undergo when you see the full moon?"

"You know damn well what it is, you bigot!" he snarled.

"Last chance, Raditz. I'm all for sticking up for what's right, but that's why we're here, brother. If you can't hang, I gotta let ya go, ya dig?" Grand Kai said.

Furious, Raditz sat back down.

"Thank you Lord Frieza, that is all. No further questions."

King Kai stood up, immediately putting Frieza on edge. He knew the blue man would use his racism against him.

"Frieza, how was your household growing up?"

"Objection! Where is this going?" Sashta asked.

"I have to agree, what's the dealio, my man?"

"I have a point, your honor, please."

"Very well, but make it quick like. Objection sustained."

"I'm afraid I do not understand the question," Frieza dumbly replied.

"Let me rephrase then," King Kai cleared his throat. "Frieza, are you a racist?"

"I don't believe so," he cooly stated. "During my rule in the PTO I lead an equal opportunity employment policy, full benefits no matter who it was-"

"And then you'd fucking kill them all!" Raditz shouted.

"Cool it, Raditz!" Grand Kai said.

He slammed the table, nearing his breaking point. He couldn't stand knowing that obnoxious red ogre had it out for him. And what's worse is how charismatic Frieza was. Even with knowledge of how he handled things, he could always get people to like him.

"If it were public knowledge, and it is, of your hatred towards other races, saiyans in this case, how would you go about disproving your narrow minded thoughts?"

"Heh heh. Maybe we are at a misunderstanding. No, you see, I have no hate towards saiyans. The fact of the matter is, when I have used the term _monkey_ I simply referred to their wild and uncontrollable behavior. I think the history of the race can back my views on it. I assure you I am not one who thinks other races are under status of others."

"Indeed," the kai rubbed his chin. "why, I'm curious, did you feel it necessary to completely eradicate the entire planet, killing billions of saiyans, including hundreds of your own men?"

"What?"

"Could you roll the clip?" he asked one of the people in the back as the lights dimmed.

The camera projected an image of a saiyan male who was flying through space, battling hundreds of Frieza's soldiers high above planet Vegeta. **(A/N: And if you would like to follow along with the rest of us in the court room =) youtube(DOTgoeshere)com/watch?v=YQR41LAdPqw&feature=related )**

"Father!" Raditz called.

"What?" Goku glanced at his brother.

"That's our father!" he chuckled. "I knew it! King Kai has this in the bag!"

The video finally ended with the destruction of planet Vegeta and the hysteric laughter that Frieza had following soon afterwards. The lights came back on and King Kai was looking very confident, something Friza did not display very well.

"Do you have a response, _Lord_ Frieza?"

Frieza cleared his throat before smiling once more, causing a look of worry for the ones against him. "Did you also remember to report your findings about how King Vegeta had planned to have me assassinated? The saiyans had betrayed me and were planning a full-scale attack. When that man attacked me, I only assumed the assault had started. You cannot honestly believe this would prove anything."

Raditz was ready to jump up and attack Frieza, but Goku stopped him, shaking his fingers and restraining his brother back down.

"Maybe it cannot, but you must admit this doesn't give you a very... credible light. The defense rests."

"Lord Frieza thank you for your time, you are free to go with the thanks of the court."

"Of course. I do hope the jury makes the right decision."

Smiling, Frieza stood from the bench as he stepped past Goku and the others and exited the room.

"This isn't good," Goku stated. "If they're using people like Frieza, I don't know what we can do."

"Don't give up, you two, I have an ace up my sleeve," King Kai said as he sat.

"Does the prosecution have any others they wish to call?"

"Yes your honor. To show the jury we hold no bias to saiyans, we're calling one up who agreed to testify."

"Another saiyan?" Goku thought out loud. "Who could?-"

"Oh shit!" Raditz whispered loudly.

"What's wrong?"

"The prosecution calls General Nappa to the stand."

If Raditz could die again, he would. Nappa was another shot again him, he knew it.

The large saiyan stood up from the pews, still dawning his saiyan armor in which he wore before his passing and approached the bench, sneering at Goku as he walked by.

"Please raise your right hand." to which Nappa did so.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you Grand Kai?"

"I do."

"Please take a seat."

"General Nappa," Sashta asked. "Would you say you are a man who knows the saiyan race?"

"Is that a serious question?" Nappa raised an eyebrow.

"It's for the records."

"Yes, I would say I'm fairly familiar with them. I _am_ a saiyan after all."

"Of course. Are you familiar with Raditz?"

"We worked together for well over twenty years, so yes, I did know him."

"I see. Would you say Raditz is an aggressive individual?"

"He's a saiyan, we're all stupid and angry," he smirked, causing the audience to laugh.

"So you're saying Raditz's brashness and excessive anger is a trait due to his race?"

"It's part of mine, so yeah, it is."

"General Nappa, I'm having a hard time getting the answers I need from you."

"Sorry."

Sashta grunted, moving onto the next question.

"This isn't going to end well," Raditz panicked. "I know it won't. Those two know me like the back of their hands. I don't know what type of ace you have King Kai, but I suggest you use it soon."

"Oh, don't worry. I have it alllll covered," he smirked, the light beaming off his sunglasses.

"Last question, General. Since Raditz is a saiyan, do you feel his traits that make up his natural character should see his appeal denied?"

"Now hold on a minute!" Nappa snapped, surprising everyone in the room.

"What's he doing?" Goku thought out loud.

"Let's get one thing straight, Raditz was a partner of mine, just like Vegeta. He wasn't a very strong fighter, in fact, he was the weakest out of all of us and we constantly gave him hell for it. But I'll be damned if I didn't see that kid bust his ass to raise his kid-"

"Thank you, General, that's enough-"

"No slick, I'm not finished. G'head and sit down if you want, but I'm still speaking here. Raditz knocked up an older elite female about a year or so before the planet was destroyed, and while most stupid teenagers would just toss it in the dumpster or give it to someone else, he stuck by it. It made me _really_ confused when I saw him down here with me. I won't say I was the nicest guy in my life, but if there's one thing I do know from being Commander in Chief of the Saiyan Army is work ethic. When someone gives you a job, you do it. And even though Raditz died on Earth, he did a hell of a job raising a kid for being fifteen when it was born. A kid, mind you, that was raised on Frieza's ship. And if that film King Kai showed doesn't prove to you how much of a bigot that lizard is, then there really is no justice in the afterlife. Raditz wasn't a very strong fighter, but he's a good kid, and a better father; Raiza turned out alright."

The entire court room was in silence. Even more shock came from Goku and Raditz. Did Nappa _really_ just say all that? He defended him, when he was supposedly sent to defame him?

"Nappa..." Raditz said to himself.

Not waiting for a response, Nappa stood from the bench and took his place back in the pews. As he passed Raditz, a smirk and thumbs up caught his eye, and he gladly returned the gesture. For the first time ever, he felt they were friends.

"I have no questions for General Nappa your honor," King Kai smugly smiled, eyeing down Sashta who simply glared back.

"If there is nothing left, you may proceed with your closing arguments. Sashta, for the prosecution, you will begin."

"Thank you, your honor."

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury... we know a criminal when we see one," he fixed his glasses, pacing back and forth between each end of the juror's bench. "Why was Raditz sent to HFIL, for that matter, why was Raditz sent into _Solitude_? A place where only we keep our most heinous and despicable criminals?"

He cleared his throat. "This man destroyed planets, ENDED civilizations, defiled who knows how many women, and then attempted to kidnap his own nephew, and nearly killed his own brother! I know the juror's will make the right decision, because this group of people I am seeing today is built by a very simply foundation: common... sense. If the records don't speak for themselves, then I don't know what will."

With that, the red ogre sat back down on the bench, and King Kai cleared his throat as he stepped forward.

"If a man shoots a gun, and kills another man, do you blame the gun?" he paused for a moment. "A gun may have been made for the sake of protection and containing the power the end one's life, but who made the gun? Who crafted it? Who gave it, and blessed it's ability to become so devastating? Can you really blame the instrument? When it sits and does nothing, it is harmless, just like the saiyan race was before Frieza enslaved them."

Goku was pretty shocked at how well he was delivering his argument. He never knew the short blue kai had it in him to be a lawyer.

"Of course you could always say, why have guns? Well why not? Let's get rid of them! And I will show you the film once again, what happens when you 'get rid of the weapon.' Even an aggressive and battle-loving race such as the saiyans cannot be blamed for their crimes of enslavement! How could you? And even when forced to kill, this man had to swallow his pride, and bow to a tyrant who REALLY ethnically cleansed entire solar systems, and raise. a. son. I am not a parent... that I know of, -snort-, excuse me, but I do know anyone who could live under the conditions distilled upon him, and still find the means to support a child. This is _not_ a bad person by any means! Did Raditz enjoy his battles? Yes, saiyans love to fight. Did he do it by choice? Absolutely... not!" he then pointed to the jury. "Which of you is, was, or may somehow even become a parent? Do you know what you would do for them? I bet you would do anything! How many of you were, are, or could be parents and are not even an adult? Raditz was a child himself when his son was born, and he did unthinkable acts of terror, for two reasons!"

The jury was in total awe at this point. Even Grand Kai was in shock at how much the northern ruler was putting into this.

"One! Because he was a slave, a prisoner, and a forced instrument of the will of a tyrant seeking nothing but domination. And two! He had to think about someone other than himself. If he didn't work extra missions, how would his son eat? How could he feed him, repair his armor when it cracked, fix his scouter if it broke? You have to do the impossible to make the impossible... possible! When the tides are turned against you, I hope you would think about what I said. Let him go. Frieza is dead, and he has a son who is waiting for him in the living world. Let... him... go."

As King Kai sat, Grand Kai stood. "Members of the jury, I ask that you exit now and debate your decision. We will meet back after a twenty minute recess to discuss the ruling, or rescheduling of trial for debate over ruling."

**X X X**

"Man King Kai, that was awesome!" Goku said. "I didn't know you had it in you."

King Kai blushed, scratching his head. "Aw well, it was nothing really."

"King Kai," Raditz said.

"Hm?"

"Even if I don't get released and they turn my appeal down, I just wanted to say thank you for doing this. I don't think anyone has ever done so much for me, and you hardly know me at all."

"Eh, well, I try, what can I say? -snort-"

**X X X**

"Members of the jury have you reached a verdict?"

"We have your honor," one of the jurors stood, a purple humanoid resembling Cui. "On the case of Appeal involving Raditz, on over one hundred counts of genocide, plans to commit genocide, kidnapping, and conspiracy for usage of private mystical property for personal gain..."

_This is it, _Raditz though.

"We the jury hereby find Raditz... Guilty."

**End Chapter 7**

**Ohh damn, looks like Raditz got found guilty... but is it gonna stay that way? Is he gonna go back for 2 years, or can _something_ happen, even after sentencing? Don't worry, I know ;)**

**Anyway, let's not forget how Tao now took our poor Andrew out. No more original names for the Androids, 17 and 18 from here on out! (Maybe.) One thing I wanted to state, as far as power levels is concerned... Cyborg Tao is stated to be at about 210. Even though Andrew (17) is slightly stronger in terms of power, Tao had decades of experience over him. Little bit of power in that instance really didn't matter too much.**

**If the YouTube link I provided at any point does not load... sorry. If I get lucky enough for anyone in the far future to read this fic, keep in mind I'm posting this link on December 9, 2011. So if you're reading this and it's like... December 2015 or something, and it isn't working... then that's probably why. Sorry! Anyway, review, and don't worry, I'll have another chapter up soon... I won't leave y'all hanging. =) -PD**


	8. Chapter 8

**What a twist, right? Maybe not, it was kind of expected for Goku to not know what to do in court lol. But don't worry, we're gonna find a way out. As for Andrew and Janelle, this is it for them. Sad face...**

**And now for responses!**

**Ryo-chan wolfgirl: Don't you hate lawyers? No worries though, I have a plan x). Yeah, it sucks for Raditz but it sucks even worse for the Androids. All that work with the orphanage and Ma and now they're gonna basically get wiped and turn into the evil twins we all know and (kind of) love. I'll explain Raiza's age. So, we know he was born about a year before Vegeta was destroyed. Fast forward 20 years, Raiza's about 21 when his father dies, and Goku's about 23(18 at the end of DB, then 5 years starts DBZ). One year later the saiyans show up, Raiza's 22 and Goku's about 24 (technically, even though he's dead for a year.), go down about 2 years after to about the time the story starts, Raiza is about 24, Goku being 26. So yep, his uncle is only 2 years older than him, which would (technically) put Raditz near his mid to high 30s when you consider he had Raiza when he was 15. Hope that clears everything up. =)**

"Guilty?" Goku shouted. He turned to his brother, his face shattered in defeat. He was so sure everything went well, especially at the end and with the video footage of Frieza destroying planet Vegeta.

"King Kai!" Goku looked to his former master, who didn't seemed troubled at all.

"Don't worry, we still have this case won."

"How..." Raditz whispered to himself. "How can we win," his empty face quickly scowled into an expression of anger. "How can we win when they're sending me back into Solitude! You blue buffoon, I trusted you with this!"

"Members of the jury, you are excused with the thanks of the court."

However, before the jury was dismissed and as the guards cuffed Raditz, King Kai stood up from his seat and cleared his throat.

"Grand Kai, I would like to propose a cambio."

"A what?" Goku wondered to himself

"King Kai are you trying to pull one of those? You know only a handful of people have ever been granted appeals, what you're asking isn't something I can do, brother man. That person who has their appeal granted has to be here _now_. If they're not, he's gonna have to wait another two years."

"The case is settled! I won! Why can't you just admit that justice has been served, North?" Sashta sneered.

"Oh please, kid, you don't know the first thing about justice," King Kai snapped. "I have someone who agreed to perform the cambio just in case something like this happened."

"Yeah right, who would be so foolish enough as to give their own chance to come back to life to some low life criminal?"

"I would."

_That voice!_ Raditz shot around.

In the pew behind them, a few rows towards the back, another saiyan stood with his arms crossed. Red gloves, saiyan armor, black pants, red bandana, and scars across his face.

"I'll do it."

Raditz couldn't believe his eyes, he knew he was dead, but he never found him. The other world is so vast that finding anyone could take, well, _forever_. But it was him, he knew it was.

"Father?"

**X X X**

Gohan had the fire of a saiyan, and the determination, but he couldn't land a hit to save his life. Raiza hardly had to try as he weaved in and away from his cousin's attacks.

"Don't just flail on me, try and kill me!" he ordered, hoping that would do something.

"Right!" his cousin replied as he stepped it up. The hits were slower, but they were much more precise and dangerous. He wasn't very strong, but his father taught him well; if he didn't keep his wits about him, he could actually hurt him.

"Don't just keep swinging in one spot, move around! The Androids aren't gonna be standing still when you fight them!" Raiza coached again as he phased away.

"Gohaaaaaaan!" a familiar voice echoed below him.

"Mom?"

Raiza stopped as he heard the same thing, glancing in the direction of the voice.

Then, his nose kicked in.

Quickly shooting down before his cousin, he rushed past his aunt, blowing up the wind across her hair as he automatically found his seat amongst the glorious feast before him.

"Where's your father, Gohan?" she asked as he walked past her.

"He said he had to take care of something with King Kai."

She sighed, of course. Although she figured it was important, she just missed seeing her husband around the house. Those five years after they were married were the best, and ever since Raditz showed up, things just got out of hand. She never saw him as much as she wanted to, but she at least took comfort in knowing _someone_ was helping the planet.

Even if that person did want to take Gohan away from his studies.

As the family sat around the table, Chi-Chi and Gohan simply watched as Raiza, once again, gorged himself silly.

"Goku never explained this to me, so maybe you can," she started. "_Why_ exactly do you saiyans eat so much every time?"

His face filled with noodles and pork, Raiza shrugged his shoulders. "I mmfn't mo. Mmfa mm ah, aeioa mmfa uga!"

_Does... he know that I didn't understand a single word he said?_

She figured it was no use. At the very least, he only ate about half of the table's worth of food before stopping. Goku on the other hand would keep going, and going, until the table was wiped clean of any and all food. All that tournament prize money Goku won unfortunately, went to groceries, and will forever go to groceries. More so now that his nephew is staying with them.

Finally, the food was gone, and a victorious saiyan appetite was known amongst the house.

"Ah man, that was great! You cook better than anyone I've ever met!" he patted his stomach.

"Well thank you, Raiza. It's nice to see my husband's family has _some_ manners, even if they're not around the table."

"Nah, my dad was worse. He'd just eat then leave right after," then he stopped. "Aunt Chi-Chi, does it bother you that I'm staying here?"

Truth be told, she was always somewhat uneasy, given the fact his father almost killed Gohan and nearly destroyed the planet so she thought.

But Raiza seemed nothing like his father. He had the fire and viciousness of a saiyan, yet he acted like a regular person when fights weren't starting. He minded his own business and said thank you more than his uncle.

"I was, at first. But after a while I realized there's just some things you shouldn't hold against people," she sighed. "I learned that with Piccolo. Even now I still have this wrench in my stomach about what happened all those years ago, he did something I would have never expected."

"What's that?" Raiza's face scowled at the mention of his name. His father's _real_ killer.

"He sacrificed himself to save Gohan."

Before he could even register what was happening, Raiza rushed out the door. A second later, he was blasting off to find the one power level he hadn't encountered since he first arrived. He couldn't get it, all of that anger he had to his uncle, it was really for this green man. Now that he finally realize it, he couldn't help but feel stupid for how much time he had kept this anger hidden, and pointed the wrong way.

When he finally found the reading he was looking for, everything was much different. It was freezing, but his constitution as a saiyan kept him a bit more bearing to the weather change; though he did have a small shiver around his ears.

"I was wondering when you would come for your little _revenge_."

He heard the voice only twice before. Once when he arrived, and was barely conscious.

And the other, before he butchered his father.

"I had been blaming the wrong person. All this time, Kakarot really wasn't the one who cut him out of this world."

Piccolo remained a few feet behind him, his arms crossed but his wits without a doubt about him; the only thing he would have over this one was his experience. If it came down to a brawl of mere strength, he wasn't going to have much of a chance.

Raiza's tail whipped, cracking the air as it swirled around his waist again.

"So. Here it is," the saiyan whispered, holding his anger inside his throat like a man about to lose his lunch.

"I'm not gonna sugarcoat this. I killed your father, I admitted it then and I admit it now. If you can't understand why I did the things I did, then you haven't learned anything."

"Heh... learned?"

Raiza's energy flared up, exploding to Piccolo's senses as the saiyan's hair spiked up ferociously. He turned his head to the side, his eyes a white green. "Who said I was here to learn?"

Though he was close, he still couldn't grasp the final trigger to pull off the transformation he pulled off completely on a whim the last time he did. Instead, he reached this state, Half Super Saiyan, he named it. Even still, it put the namekian on a great edge.

Not even a moment later, Piccolo found himself flailing across the sky as he quickly rebounded himself, tossing his weighted clothing to the far ground below him. He had to take this fight seriously, Raiza could easily kill him if he didn't take this the intelligent way.

He sensed him behind him. He quickly phased away from the saiyan's lethal kick, shooting back to smack him away with a backhand. Connecting, he sent the young man flying, quickly giving chase to him.

Raiza was spinning uncontrollably, finally stopping as his leg blocked a fist coming from the namekian. A second later, they both phased, engaging in quick booms of bouts, flurrying fists and feet alike as they were one place for a moment, then gone to another in the next.

"Tch. Not bad, green man!" Raiza taunted.

"I wish I could say the same for you."

Grunting, Raiza let the next strike hit him, grabbing Piccolo's arm as he swung him around, finally letting go as he tossed his opponent into the ground, chasing after him.

**X X X**

"Your honor, with all due respect, you don't really think this could even be allowed, could you?"

Sashta was furious. Of all the times, when he finally settled the case, someone was about to undermine everything he worked for. And it was his own father too, even worse.

"Why don't you let me decide that, Sashta? Sit down, we're on a completely different case now."

"But your honor!-"

Grand Kai's glance met with the red ogre's face. A look of convince and authority rang to his core, planting him in his seat as he looked back towards the man who decided to stand up and voice his support.

"You know what? I think I remember you. Yeah, you won your case a while back, right? What was your name again? Braddik? Bradley? Bedrock?"

"Actually it's Bardock."

"There we go!" he snapped his fingers. "Alright then, come on up, if you're serious."

"King Kai," Goku whispered over. "What's going on?"

"My plan from the beginning," he smiled. "You both should go speak with your father. Once the Grand Kai starts the cambio, that'll be it."

His face was still confused. He glanced over at Raditz's face, which was about to burst. He wasn't sure how he was feeling, but he knew it had something to do with the man behind them... come to think of it, he did look a _lot_ like him.

Quickly phasing to in front of Bardock, Goku cupped his own chin, examining his father's face, then his hair, then essentially the rest of him.

"Man! You look just like me!" he declared, causing Raditz and King Kai to fall over once again.

"I, uh-" Bardock was at a loss for words. _Is he... serious?_

"I mean there was this one guy named Turles who came to Earth, he had the same hair as I did. Even my own son got me confused with him, but you! Man, it's like I'm looking right at myself!"

"Well I mean I-"

"Idiot! Were you _not_ paying attention to the clip King Kai was showing earlier? How I _blatantly _said 'That's our father!'?"

Working his brain like never before, finally a light went off in Goku's head. "Hey yeah! I remember now!" he glanced over at his father, then himself. "Man, no wonder we look so alike, hah!"

"That's right, Kakarot I'm... your father. You seem to be taking this awfully well..."

"Ugh. Father, he hit his head when he landed on Earth, he can't remember anything. He goes by some awkward name now, _Goku_ or whatever."

"Huh. Goku, eh? I guess that suits you," his father smirked.

"But wait... hey, I'm confused. Why are you here? Didn't Frieza kill you?"

"Yeah, yeah he did. When I came to, I was here in Other World. I had to wait in line for a really long time. Finally I met with King Yemma and he discussed my case. Apparently what I ended up doing in the end weighted out my almost for sure sentence to HFIL. I was sent to Heaven, but the black marks on my record still held me back from most of the benefits. Eventually I ended up here, actually in this same court room and Grand Kai saw over my case."

"A case for what?"

"My appeal. Apparently, while in Heaven, I wasn't technically _supposed_ to be there either. I had to prove my worth in court. I didn't know this appeal also meant I would be able to come back to life... though I knew in the back of my mind my time was over."

"I see."

"Alright, y'all. That's enough family talk for now. Bardock if you would please step forward to my desk."

Passing by his youngest son, Bardock was quickly at the front of the Grand Kai's desk. The old kai quickly cleared his throat as he assorted through several stacks of papers, finally coming to the one he was searching for.

"Right on. Okay, Bardock I need to ask you some questions so the records show. You are agreeing to a cambio with your son Raditz, and that by agreeing to this, you are giving up your appeal to ever return to the living realm and your good credentials throughout Other World. That by agreeing to this, you will never be allowed out of HFIL unless certain conditions apply, you will never be allowed to train, and you will be forever barred from ever becoming stronger."

Taking a breath, he glanced over at Raditz.

"You, Raditz, as the receiving party, acknowledge that the delivering party, your father, Bardock, is giving you essentially, his life so that you may possibly return to the realm of the living. Cambio appeals carry the same weight as any other, and so come the following expectations," he quickly grabbed a small glass of water to his side. He remembered why he hated presiding over cases as he easily drank the entirety of it.

"By commencing the cambio of appeals, you are carrying the delivery party's reputation. That means, by regulation, any wrongs committed will negatively impact the delivery's reputation further. Acts of good are expected, and do not aide in restoring reputation amongst the person you have received the appeal from; you are already carrying that person's reputation from the get go... Huh, never really did care for politics. Anyway, once the parties have exchanged, the receiving party must find their own means back to the realm of the living. Simply leaving Other World will not be considered adequate, as you will still be considered deceased."

Finally taking a breather, he set the papers aside and glanced at Bardock, his face still but sure of himself; this was something he was going to do.

"Do you, Bardock, as the delivering party agree to the terms in which the Department of Justice of Other World and this court have bestowed?"

Bardock looked back at Raditz, then at Goku. It was crazy, even with all this time he had spent gone, he still dreamt of the day he would finally meet his youngest son. How fortunate he wasn't dead, but it seems this would be a very short reunion indeed.

Goku's face was concerned, worried, but he simply did not know this man like Raditz did. He felt bad like any other person, but he knew his older brother was ready to break down. His face would twitch from time to time, keeping all those emotions locked away and hoping they wouldn't break out like a stuffed closet.

"I agree."

"Alright. Now, Raditz, do you, as the receiving party agree to the terms as well?"

Was he really going to do this? He didn't even think about the fact that he would be coming back to life. He remembered the Dragon Balls and what they would do after all of this, but, that was the last thing on his mind at the moment.

He was going to send his own father to Hell. Forever.

"No!" he shouted. "I absolutely refuse. I won't send my own father to damnation just so I can have another-"

His quick rant was ceased as his father's hard punch cut his cheek. His gaze kept at the side, his shame was too great to even look at him.

"I know you didn't just say that," Bardock sneered. "Because no son of mine is going to go back on his word. You sure seemed pretty keen on getting the hell out of here, but when it came down to this, you all of a sudden wanted to throw in the towel?"

"Don't you understand?" Raditz snapped, now in his face. "You're condemning yourself for _all_, ALL, of eternity, just so I can have another chance at life."

"No. I understand completely," he calmly replied. "Because unlike you, I had a life. I had a good life, for the most part. I had friends, family, women, and fights. And the most important thing of all, was when your mother gave me you, and your brother. Even though Frieza had a grip on the planet until the very end, I at least had a youth. I can say I did all of the things I wanted to. Heh, well, except stop Frieza."

Raditz's fist clenched. He couldn't believe he was actually hearing this. But it was true, he knew it was.

"I know from as far as I can remember, you were working," he told Raditz. "You didn't have a life. You were a slave, and you knew it. You deserve to have that chance at life, one more time."

Goku just watched this man, this man who was his father preach to his brother. He really was a father, and someone he could really look up to. Had he only had the chance to get to know him, maybe, just maybe things could have been different.

Then he stepped over to him. Bardock couldn't get over how identical they were.

"You know, for what it's worth, I'm okay with how long it took to finally see you again," Bardock smirked. "It might sound kind of strange, but I always sort of knew you would grow up to do some pretty amazing things."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I have... well, I had a gift before I died. I could see the future. I knew all about your fight with that green guy, Vegeta, even you fighting Frieza, twenty years in advance."

His father's hand came to rest on his shoulder as his slight grip planted it there. "Kakarot. I want you to do one thing for me, son."

Goku nodded. "Sure."

"I want you to take care of yourself. Same thing goes for you, Raditz. I know I was never around for you, and I wish I was. When I took Frieza on, all I could think about were you two. I had a long time to think about my life, what I did, what I could have done. And I think the most important thing I can say I learned is: do it if you can, and do it for others."

Goku smiled. His first, and only conversation with his father. He never pictured it would be like this, he didn't even picture him even meeting his father. Fate had a funny way of working things out, at least for him and his friends.

"Thanks, Dad."

Hearing his youngest son say that really lifted his spirits. Patting his shoulder one more time, he turned back to Grand Kai with his arms behind his back. "I'm ready."

"I'm ready too, brother, but we're still waiting on Raditz's decision."

"I..." he glanced to his father, then to his brother. But most importantly, he remembered the one thing that made him want this.

His son.

"I agree to the terms," he cringed. He knew he had to do it, but he didn't want to. Was there another way to come back without taking his father's appeal from him? He could wait, but what's to stop that case from being a loss again?

"Alrighty then, we're in the biz."

"Your honor!" Sashta finally snapped. "There is no way you can allow this! The case is settled, I demand Raditz be returned back to Soli-"

"No. I think I have a better idea," Grand Kai smirked. "You, can leave," and with the snap of his fingers, the floor below the obnoxious red ogre opened up as he fell down below.

"Alright, Raditz, come on over here."

He stepped to where he was instructed to, standing at arms length apart from his father as they faced each other.

"Are you both ready?"

"I'm ready," Bardock said.

"Me too," Raditz replied.

"Please interlock hands."

Following the Grand Kai's instructions, he mentioned the process of cambio could take some time, and King Kai took the opportunity to instruct Goku to find the Dragon Balls. Saying his final goodbyes to his father, he Instant Transmissioned away from the court room, from Other World, and back to Earth.

**X X X**

"Makosen HA!"

The enormous blast caught Raiza off guard, but he had just enough time to jump above it as it shot far beyond him, a thunderous explosion commencing along the horizon. Their fighting had progressed much further away from where they had begun fighting. They were miles away, now in a warmer area, but took little time to admire the surroundings.

Piccolo's shin slammed into Raiza's head, flinging him down to the ground. He caught himself and flipped back, dodging another kick before they engaged into another volley of fists and kicks.

Raiza couldn't shake it. He thought he was stronger than him, yet here he was keeping up with him. What was holding him back?

Finally, an opening presented itself. He grabbed his kick as it landed into his side. Raiza's elbow came down, slamming right into the namek's head. Before he could be sent away, he spun quickly, ramming his shin into his side as he flung through a small outcrop of rocks, easily mistaken for a small mountain.

Piccolo struggled to attempt to pick himself up. He had been able to keep up with Raiza for the mere fact that he knew his technique better than he did. This did not apply after the hours of fighting, when his endurance began to whither, and Raiza's did not. Saiyans had a constitution he would never understand.

The time for thinking ended when a hard kick came up, jamming right into his back as it lifted him up, only for him to be shot back down by a pair of balled fists. He was picked up, and his onslaught began. Punch after punch, kick after kick, he couldn't fight back anymore. He was completely at Raiza's mercy.

Finally, a backhand skidded the namekian across the ground, under a tree. The shade seemed so necessary, despite the pitch black sky. Wait, why was it so black all of a sudden? He wondered, but he let it go.

And Raiza's blood lust was nearly complete. Almost. He loomed over him, his palm open as the warmth of his energy gathered, slowly forming a blue ball of energy as he aimed it down right to his abdomen.

"Right where you shot my father."

Then Piccolo did something Raiza wasn't expecting.

He started laughing.

His eyes twitched. How could he be laughing at a time like this? "What's so funny?"

"No one... has ever come after me like that. It's kind of, ugh, impressive. Not even Goku gave me that much of a lashing, not with that kind of ferocity."

"Years of waiting to avenge your father does a lot for you."

Then Raiza's question finally came to surface. "My aunt told me something about you."

"Really... that's interesting. Chi-Chi... always has wonderful things to say about me," he chuckled.

"She said you gave yourself up to save Gohan. Why would you do that?"

"I wish I could tell you. But, I can't. I joined up with Goku to fight your father, because I, urgh, I knew I couldn't beat him on my own. After that, I had to train Gohan... so that way he could fight Nappa and Vegeta. I guess you could say, my hate for him watered down, thanks to all of the other things going on."

Raiza was completely silent. Slowly, but surely, his eyes returned to normal, and his hair lost its spiky nature as it fell down to its original form.

Then his ki blast flared up, growing vastly in size. Shutting his eyes, Raiza shouted his years of anguished suffering as he fired the blast into the sky, firing it out of the atmosphere into the depths of space.

"I can't... do it," he fell to a sit, Piccolo slowly regaining his composure as he shifted to lay on his elbow.

"I spent a long time. At first I was just so sure it was Kakarot. I was completely convinced. I would kill Frieza's soldiers, picturing his face, and his body on the ground when I fried it. Then I fought him, and I just couldn't do it. And when I found out it was really you, I thought my chances came back. I told myself, this was it, I could finally do it, and do it right. Heh, but even when I had you, even when I _knew_ I was going to kill you... I couldn't do it. My father must be pretty disappointed I couldn't even avenge him all this time after."

"You could never disappoint me."

He froze, his eyes widening. Was he hearing things?

He slowly turned his head around. Before he could even see the saiyan boots, there was hair. A lot of it, flowing freely, only inches from the rocks of the ground.

"No..." he gasped.

When he finally made his rotation, his eyes did not deceive him. That hair, the smirk, and the glow of the man in front of him.

Raditz, was back.

**End Chapter 8**

**Sorry about taking so long to update. Had finals... you know how it is, right? Oh, you don't? Okay, well it sucks, lol. Anyway, Raditz is back (YEAH!) and Raiza had a close encounter with Piccolo. I honestly felt it was appropriate to have them fight, simply for the fact that he's still got that kernel of hate, but he's slowly been watering down the whole "semi-evil" thing ever since he poured himself out a few chapters ago. It's safe to say Raiza will stay, and become a Z-Fighter. Aw, how nice of me, right? =P**

**But now we get down to preparing for the Androids. Yep, now we're gonna hop right onto the story (with a few added things, of course.) and start by doing one of my favorite episodes. What's that exactly? Well, you'll see next time! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and are enjoying the story so far. If you have any questions, or maybe I missed something and didn't explain it properly (or at all. I tend to do that sometimes.) please go right ahead and leave it in a review and I will respond within the next chapter. Review away, cya next time. -PD**

**Ps, if you were wondering, "cambio" is Spanish for "exchange." See what I did there? =)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Try not to let Bardock's little moment bum you out. Who knows, he _may_ be making another appearance, I haven't decided yet. =P Well then, for this chapter, I've always wanted to cover this episode, and I think I'll lay it out for you all towards the end. My anime-watching friends will know exactly what I'm talking back towards the end, you'll see!**

It took a while for Raiza to get used to the fact that his father was back. He spent hours crying, overjoyed at the fact that the worst two years of his life had finally come to an end. That the emptiness in his heart finally filled, and the one person who knew him better than he knew himself had come home.

When Raditz explained everything to him about his uncle being the one to help bring him back, and his grandfather sacrificing his own reset for life, he grew an all new respect for the saiyan who hit himself on the head. Even more so for the grandfather he could barely remember as a baby.

Readjusting to life amongst the living wasn't too troublesome for Raditz. It took him a while to get used to not having a halo anymore. But as he and his son flew through the sky towards West City to meet with a familiar face, he wouldn't have minded anything else at all. He was back, and even better knowing his son was with him.

"It's down there, Dad."

Raditz and his son quickly descended upon the Capsule Corp. grounds, quickly noticing the rumbling of the space pod immediately to the side.

"He's in there?" Raditz asked.

"Yeah. I told ya, ever since they got wind of the Androids, they've been training non stop."

"I see."

The front door opened as the obviously pregnant Bulma peeked her head out, finally stepped out completely. She was getting closer to her delivery. Raiza and Raditz didn't have to really figure it out much, the scent of a saiyan was signature. All Raditz did was give his former teammate a mental thumbs up.

"Hi Bulma," Raiza awkwardly waved. "Is uh... Vegeta here?"

"Ugh, he's _always_ here. He never leaves! I don't even think he went to sleep last night."

"Oh, right. Oh hey by the way, you've met my father, right?"

"Who's your fath- OH MY GOD!" she quickly jumped back behind the door, keeping her head peaking out.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Raditz spoke up. "Kakarot helped bring me back. He said you could help me train... I haven't had any chance to get stronger since I died."

"U-Um... sure... let me just... ask my... Dad..."

Awkwardly trailing away, Raditz shrugged it off. He figured he would be getting that for a while. How often did your enemies become your allies?

Then again, almost half of these fighters training together were enemies at one point.

The door to the capsule shot up, and a sweaty and shirtless Vegeta stepped out, his eyes opening wide in shock at the realization of who stood not too far from him.

"What?" he gasped. "How? You're dead?"

Raditz smirked. "I was. Kakarot helped me get out. I'm here because I was told about these Androids that were coming to destroy us. I haven't had the chance to become stronger since being locked away for so long, so I needed something to bring me up to speed. I heard your mate had a way to fix that."

"There's an older model she has, but it barely holds a candle to the one I use," Vegeta chuckled. "Then again, it still might be too much for you. Ahahaha!"

Raditz growled, but if he couldn't do anything back then, there was sure as hell no way he could do anything now.

"Just wait."

"Um... I have it."

The three saiyans turned to face Bulma holding a capsule, her hand shaking as she handed it to Raditz who took it quickly, frightening her even more.

"It's fine, Bulma," Vegeta replied annoyed. "He's not going to do anything."

"Y-Yeah but I-"

"Do I have to remind you how much _worse_ Nappa and I were?"

"That reminds me," Raditz interrupted. "How _did_ Nappa die?"

Vegeta chuckled. "He had a bit of an accident. Let's just leave it at that."

It didn't sit well with him, but he took it. Keeping the capsule in his hands, he glanced over to his son who nodded as they lifted off.

"Thanks, we'll see you guys later!" Raiza waved as they took off back towards Goku's house.

Bulma awkwardly waved back, Vegeta cockily smirking. "As if _they_ have any sort of chance against these androids."

**X X X**

"I'll be back in a bit once they get here so that way we can- Oh look there they are."

Raiza and Raditz quickly got back to where Goku and Gohan were floating, Piccolo keeping a bit of distance away from them as per usual.

"She said it was an older model, but it should still function," Raditz held the capsule. "How exactly is this going to work?"

"It's easy. Since you're so far behind us right now, you gotta catch up. So I've got a pretty good idea."

"What's that?" his brother asked.

"There's a place up on Kami's Lookout, called the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. It's a completely different dimension. While you're inside, a whole year in there is only a day out here."

"What? Kakarot that's ridiculous, nothing could give you a year's training in one day!"

"Well, only one way to really show you," he smirked. "Alright guys, road trip!"

Quickly bundling his family together, plus Piccolo, into a hug, Goku focused for a moment before the group was teleported away.

**X X X**

Coming back to, Goku released them as Raditz and Raiza were in awe of what they were looking at. A beautiful marble flooring with a gorgeous castle just in front of them. Even the vegetation was well kept.

"What is this place?" Raditz wondered to himself. "I never saw such a thing when I was here."

"You missed a lot when you were here," Goku replied. "Come on, I'll show you aro- Oh hey there's Kami!"

The small group was approached by a senior namekian, walking with the aide of his staff, and a black genie at his side.

"Goku. It's good to see you again."

"Yeah, you too, Kami. Listen, I need a really big favor."

"Yes, I know all about how you wish to use the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. More so, you wish for your brother Raditz to use it so that way he'll be able to fight the Androids along side you all."

"That's right," Goku nodded. "Would it be okay if we used it, Kami?"

The old namekian nodded. "That will be fine. Please, come this way."

After a few moments of walking and gazing around the beautiful architecture, the group ended at a narrow hallway, at the opposite end was a small wooden door with a simple handle on it.

"This is it," Kami stated. "Inside here, one year will pass, but only a day will go by here in the outside world. I warn you though, do not venture too far, and do not exceed your stay, or you will be locked in for all eternity."

"Would someone mind explaining how I use this contraption?" Raditz wondered holding the capsule up.

"I can. Once we are inside I will show you," Kami suggested.

"Go on, Dad. I'll be right outside."

Raditz frowned, but agreed as he followed the guardian inside the room as the door opened, and he stepped inside.

**X X X**

The air was thick, hot, humid, a mix of everything a swamp would carry. He felt like he was inhaling smoke through his nostrils as he passed through dimensions and stopped to examine his surroundings.

There was nothing in front of him, to the left, or to the right. Just this small patio, a bedroom, a kitchen, a table, and a bath. The bare minimal.

"As I said, be careful to not wonder too far. Some people have done so... we haven't seen them since. The gravity is heavier here, but you do not seem phased by it much."

"Planet Vegeta had a heavier gravity than this."

"Yes I see."

"Hold on a second, guardian. How do I work this thing I'm holding?"

"Ah yes, the capsule. It's fairly simple, you see."

With a quick push of a button, Kami flicked the capsule a few feet away from the steps and a puff of smoke quickly covered the area. A moment later, a large space capsule laid in front of them.

"How-What? They fit that thing in there? How?"

"Technology is incredible," Kami said to himself. "Now then, we will see you in a year."

Raditz paid no mind to the guardian as he levitated up to where the door was. He pulled slightly on the handle, and the door came down, rather quickly, and the steps clunked down.

He stepped inside and glanced around. It looked exactly like Vegeta's training room, which is where he figured it was based off of. He punched in a few numbers on the computer dials. He was somewhat familiar with the written language of Earth, but not quiet fluent yet. Still, he wasn't completely lost, he could still manage to figure out the basic functions.

"_Gravity adjustment sequence initiated. 300X Earth's normal gravity in 3... 2.."_

"300 times? That can't be- Agh!"

Raditz was instantly cemented to the floor. He could feel the weight of the world, ten worlds in this case, crashing on top of him. He had to get up quickly, or all of this work he went through would be for nothing. And he was sure the worst part about dying again would be knowing he couldn't escape from his father's punishment. The man could really scare you if you made him angry enough.

He tried with all his might to raise his hands up, but he couldn't. His fingers barely twitched with all of his strength put into it. Had he only been able to raise his power some while he was dead, he may have had a chance. But here he is, still at Saibaman strength, being planted into the ground.

_Wait!_ he thought. _They should have voice overrides planted in these!_

"Initiate shut down!"

"_Acknowledged."_

The weight quickly left him as the room went from red to the regular color once again. He sat up, cracking his back manually. That was definitely a scary experience.

He stood back up, manually punching in the numbers. He started back at a small number, setting the gravity to 10x. It was tough on him, but he could still manage.

"Alright. I have a whole year to catch up. Can't have everyone in my family stronger than I am, it just wouldn't be right!" and with that, he phased into a quick barrage of punches, back flips, and assorted fighting maneuvers as his training had only just begun.

**X X X**

With the door shut and Kami back on the other side, Goku decided to take everyone back home. Once everyone arrived, Raiza decided to take a break.

"We're getting ready to eat soon. You sure you don't want to wait until after?"

"No thanks Uncle Kakarot, I have a bad feeling... need to check something out."

Goku nodded, waving to his nephew as he quickly flew away.

Raiza bolted through the sky, heading back to the city he was just in hardly a few hours ago. Usually when something twisted in his stomach like this, something bad had happened, or is happening right now. Whatever it was, he could only think of a few things.

He quickly dropped down to where Capsule Corp. laid. He glanced around, sensing Vegeta's energy inside, training as usual. He felt carefully, and the others inside were home as well.

"This is so weird..." he thought out loud to himself. "Wait a second!"

He flew back up, high enough to glance around. "Where is it?"

A few moments later, he saw it. A rusted merry go round, and a swing set made for four swings, holding only one swing.

_Please don't let it be there._

He dropped down, opening the door as he stepped into the school. He didn't feel any energy... not even minimal levels that held life. It scared him, but he had to keep going. Whatever it was that was bothering him just now, it had to be here. There was just no other way.

A few more steps down, and a chill ran down his spine. It was cold, not like a couple of months ago when it was warm and you could slightly hear the sound of children talking and laughing.

He walked through the halls, stepping through the double doors as his nose went haywire, and his eyes widened in surprise.

The entire cafeteria was empty. And wiped down clean. New tables, new chairs, and completely rid of any and all persons inside. All his nose could pick up was the harsh smell of bleach and chlorine.

"They're... gone?"

There was nothing, not even a faint power level. Even the children, the old woman, they gave off very small forms of energy. He couldn't even feel Andrew or Janelle at all.

"I guess that's what this all was... they must have left," he sighed as he turned back, leaving the school.

"Would have been nice to see them again. I feel pretty bad about just leaving like that."

He glanced down at his shoes. The very same ones Janelle gave to him, still working like they were fresh out of the box.

"They probably _had_ to move. Oh well, I'll probably see them next time another one of these tycoons come into town," he smirked to himself as he lifted off the ground, heading back home.

**X X X**

An exhausted sigh filled the air. Finally, at last, it was finished.

Dr. Gero pressed the button as a young female rose from the cold iron table. She stood up, glancing around at her surroundings, unsure, but not unfamiliar.

"Yes. Perfect. Tell me, how do you feel?"

The girl smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Good morning, Dr. Gero. I feel wonderful."

"Good... good. Now then, stand over there while I set up our next experiment," he glanced to the edge of the room. "13, bring in the boy!"

The thick iron door opened as a tall country man stepped through with a struggling teenage boy held by the arms. His feet kept squirming around as he continued to rebel against his captors.

"Let go of me, you damn hick!"

"Quite a feisty one we got, doctor! Sure you dun want me to whip this boy good before we start this here operation?"

"That's quite alright. Just lay him down here so I can put him under."

Suddenly, his eyes caught the image of his sister, calmly standing in the corner of the room as if nothing was the matter.

"Janelle, you're okay! You gotta run, go and get help!"

She didn't even respond, almost as if she didn't know him. This only lead to upset him even further.

"Hey! Are you deaf? I'm talking to you!"

"Hm?" she asked. "I'm sorry, I don't know who you're talking about."

"What?" he gasped.

Slammed down onto the table, he still kept his struggle, throwing his feet towards Dr. Gero's devices he was planning to use on him. Things he had only seen in horror movies such as Saw and Hostel were very real, and very much in his face at the moment.

"Wait! Wait!... I'll cooperate."

"I'm glad you've come to your senses," Dr. Gero smiled. "13, you may release him."

"Huh? Doctor, you know he ain't serious, right?"

"Are you disobeying me, 13?"

"No sir," quickly replying as his hands let go of the black haired orphan.

"There now, see how easy it is when you cooperate?"

Quickly proceeding, Dr. Gero took one of his first precision tools, slowly aiming it down towards Andrew's chest.

That's when Andrew hurled himself up, slamming the tool into the doctor's face as he let out a searing howl. He leaped off, grabbing his sister as he rushed to the door.

"Come on! We gotta get the hell out of here!"

Then he stopped as the hulking man who carried him in phased in front of them.

"Goin' somewhere, boy?"

He gritted his teeth as he gathered up as much energy as he could at once, forming it in an open palm as he aimed it towards the android. "I'm going out of that door, by you, or through you. Now move or I'll put a hole in that whiskey belly of yours!"

13 chuckled as he opened his arms widely. "Go right on ahead."

He was serious? But he couldn't bother waiting. He had to go, and he had to go now. Shouting quickly, he fired a yellow beam of ki, following a small cloud of smoke as it made contact.

Immediately the smoke spread apart, revealing the exact same person, with zero damage to him.

"What? That's impossible, there's no way anyone could have withstood that!"

"Maybe for a little ol' bug. But for me, that shit don't work, I'm afraid."

He had no time to react as a hand quickly grasped around his mouth. Immediately, he felt faint, slowly, surely, drifting off into unconsciousness.

_What's... happening... to me?_

**X X X**

The next day came quickly, Raiza getting to the lookout several hours early in the event his father came out early, but it wasn't the case. When the exact hour struck, Goku, Gohan, and Raiza all waited as the door opened.

The first thing everyone noticed was the humongous jump in power. This wasn't just a saibaman anymore. This was an insanely high power now. The jump was monumental, comparable to Frieza at this point, maybe even slightly higher.

Raditz's armor was badly cracked and chipped. His shoulder pads both cracked away, the pads at his waist ripped away as well, his face and other limbs covered in their fair shares of cuts and bruises. The one thing that did not change was his hair, still just as long as ever.

"It's good to see your training went well," Kami congratulated.

"Dad!" Raiza shouted. "You're... strong!"

"A year at 300X Earth's normal gravity will do that," he smiled. "Hard to imagine only a day went out here."

"I'll say! Man Raditz, you made a heck of a jump!" Goku observed in equal shock.

**X X X**

A peaceful atmosphere laid about. Goku laid on his back watching the clouds drift by, Raiza and his father doing simple spars, popping in and out of radically fast barrages of fists and kicks. Piccolo sat at the end of a nearby waterfall, deep in meditation.

"Hmm... that cloud looks like somebody I know," he thought out loud.

Then it hit him. "I'll be! It's Master Roshi! Hah, except his nose is a bit bigger," then his eyes moved to the next cloud. "And that cloud looks like Piccolo. Whew, scary."

Gohan popped out of the river ajar to Goku, quickly holding a gigantic fish easily twice his size as he waved it like a trophy.

"Hey Dad! Look what I caught!"

"Hah, man, that sure is a big fish! Your mom will be proud of you!"

"Do you think we can have it for dinner?"

"Sure we can!"

Nearby, an annoyed Piccolo overheard their conversation.

_Ah man, fish again? That's all we've had for two weeks straight!_

As the sun set down into the horizon, an exhausted Chi-Chi dragged her feet across the single lane road.

"My feet... are killing me!" sighing, she looked down at her destroyed bags of groceries. "I wish I had a car..."

The reminder of how liberating the feeling would be happened as a teenage couple quickly sped by her in a vehicle.

Finally reaching home, she had only moments of sitting down with a miniscule amount of groceries as the bustling conversations of her extended family came pouring through the door.

"Your kicks are sloppy, you didn't even work on them when I told you to!" was the first thing she heard coming from Raditz, his son's rebuttal immediately after.

"What, are they too fast for you, old man?"

"I'll show you too fast if you keep that lip up with me!"

"Hiya Mom!" Gohan came cheerily through, an enormous fish over his shoulders. "Look what I caught! Just in time for dinner!"

"More fish, that's great," she simply replied, letting her gaze follow to Piccolo. _And it looks like I'll be cooking for one extra tonight again. Doesn't that Piccolo have anywhere else to go?_

Her eyes then followed over to Raditz who had Raiza on his stomach, yanking his leg as his variation for a spanking, Raiza shouting out in screams of hysterical pain, coupled with cries of laughter. _Although I'm not sure what I can say about those two, either. They're family, but this house is turning too much into a hotel rather than a home for a family._

Then came in Goku, the final straw on the camel's back. "Peeyew!" he declared, tossing his first shirt off, along with his wristbands. "Come on Gohan, let's go take a bath."

"Yeah! My clothes smell like fish, hah!"

Before her eyes, mountains of clothes from Goku, Gohan, now Raiza and Raditz's clothes made it to the pile. "Hey Chi-Chi can you give these a wash? Easy on the starch, okay? We worked up quite a sweat today!"

Finally, her growling grew too loud for her own good, she shot up.

"Hold it right there, you four!" she yelled, getting in front of the table to address the four shirtless saiyans. "Let me get this straight, you expect me to get dinner ready _and_ wash clothes while you all go out and relax in a nice hot bath? Well that's not gonna happen, mister! Do you even _care_ what kind of day I had? I don't know what I liked more, being chased halfway home by a wild board, or walking the rest of the way on my tired aching feet! And it's all because we don't have a car!"

"Well, gee Chi-Chi, I'd drive you, but you know I don't have a driver's license yet..."

"WELL IT'S TIME YOU GOT ONE! I don't know why you have to be the only man in this town who doesn't have a driver's license _or_ a car!"

Goku glanced over to Piccolo. "You can't drive, can you?"

"LEAVE ME OUT OF THIS!"

His glance leaned over to his older brother and now terrified nephew. "You're kidding, you two don't either?"

"Do not bring your marital issues onto me, little brother!"

"Y-Yeah Uncle Kakarot I uh... I don't wanna be pulled into this one."

"I want all four of you to put your training on hold for now and go to driving school TOMORROW!" finally stopping, she held her posture by crossing her arms. "I think it's about time you all learned something useful for a change."

"Say WHAT?" Piccolo asked outraged.

Raditz slapped his forehead. "I can't believe this..."

"Hey, Dad. I can still drive a pod... think I can get out of this?"

"Absolutely not, boy!" his father snapped. "If I'm going, you're going too!"

"Aw Chi-Chi, do we have to?" Goku whined.

"Listen you guys, I'm just asking you to get your driver's licenses. It's not like I'm asking you to save the world."

All four stood in absolute shock, she was actually serious about this!

"And if you don't, you'll have to cook your _own_ meals from now on! Understand?"

Gulping in unison, all four nodded their heads.

It was gonna be a long day.

**End Chapter 9**

**Well yeah, I said I was gonna focus on bringing about the whole driving episode... but with everything else that popped in my crazy little mind, I figured laying out for the next episode could be the best thing. We need an entire chapter for this... oh yes, I'm gonna have fun with this next one. No need to wait for very long, I plan on getting started right away and hopefully having this next one up very, very soon. Send me some reviews, see you in a bit! -PD**


	10. Chapter 10

**Wow! So I wake up expecting maybe a review or two, and I get FOURTEEN notifications on my email! daughterofrisingsun, you. are. AWESOME! Great way to start the day! Thanks!**

**Anyway, now we'll see what happens when you take three saiyans and a namek to driving school. Oh yes, I'm going to love writing this, and I hope you love it too.**

Clear blue skies and fresh green grass made for a beautiful picture this morning. What didn't make for one was an annoyed group of individuals being forced to attend driving school, namely, everyone who _wasn't_ named Goku.

Goku stepped out of the office building, glancing around until he finally caught hold of Piccolo, then his brother... then his nephew.

"Oh... man! What are you guys wearing?"

Piccolo definitely stood out. A yellow shirt with purple long sleeves underneath, jeans and a backwards baseball cap with the name "Gokuu" printed across.

Raditz grumbled as he sat on a bench across from his son, wearing a blue jacket and a white shirt with black pants. As for Raiza, he still wore the same blue shirt and black pants, so his level of embarrassment didn't stand out nearly as much as his father's did.

"I'm not wearing anything different," Raiza shrugged.

"Your wife gave us these clothes, out of _your_ closet," Piccolo grumbled.

"Oh... man, sorry you guys. Chi-Chi means well. Listen, since we're here let's just get it over with."

"Sounds good to me," Piccolo started. "Although, I'm still not sure how I even got suckered into this in the first place. She's not even _my_ wife."

"Where do you draw the line, Kakarot?" Raditz spoke up. "This is humiliating!"

"Aw come on you guys, it won't be that bad!" Goku tried to cheer the group.

"Alright, which one of you is Goku?" said an elderly man's voice from behind them.

"Oh, I'm Goku," he turned back.

"And, um... Ray...za? Is that it?"

"It's Raiza, and that's me," he stood up, standing next to his uncle.

"Ahh. I'll be your driving instructor today," he horsed in his voice as he wheezed out a painful set of coughs while approaching them. "Let's... go... oh my back!" he whined as he nearly fell over.

"Hey mister, are you okay?" Goku asked with a confused look on his face.

"Hey Uncle," Raiza whispered. "Is this guy serious? He can't even walk, how can he drive?" to which Goku shrugged his shoulders.

"Nyehhh I'll... be... fine..." he grunted, cracking his back into place once more. "There. Good as gold now."

"Hi, you two must be my students. You're Piccolo, aren't you?" said the young woman before glancing over to Raditz. "And you must be Raditz. We're going to start with the basics on your driving instruction. I'm going to demonstrate proper driving technique, so please pay attention."

Raditz, catching a glimpse of the instructor's short and tight skirt rubbing against her thighs gave a mental smirk to himself. _Oh of course, and next time _you_ need some technique demonstration, I'll be more than happy to help, heheh._

Piccolo just frowned as he sat in the front seat, Raditz taking a spot in the back. _How did I ever get sucked into this mess?_

Awkwardly taking his seat, Piccolo shut the door.

"First of all, always remember to fasten your seatbelt."

Raditz chuckled at Piccolo's futile attempts to fasten his seatbelt, the leather strap constantly snapping away, even slapping him on more than one attempt.

Then the seemingly harmonious and gentle driving instructor snickered as she placed the key into the ignition, quickly starting the car up and giving both passengers an uneasy feeling right away.

Then, Raditz realized something that was absolutely dire to his situation.

There weren't any seatbelts in the backseat.

"Yeah! Burn RUBBER!"

The car immediately shot up as Piccolo leaned to his side of the door, Raditz quickly grabbing both sides of the car as Goku and Raiza watched them.

"Are we supposed to do that you think?" Raiza asked Goku.

"I don't... know."

"Oh yeah! Listen to that engine, you know what that sound is? Power!"

"Wait! Wait I don't have a-"

"Yeeeeeeehaw!"

Her foot slammed down onto the pedal, immediately shooting the speedometer into the 100s as the vehicle bolted away at speeds comparable to their flying in some cases.

Raditz quickly lost his grip on the sides of the car as he was flown off, grabbing the backseat as his support as he and his hair flailed about while the car sped faster with every moment.

"Stop... the... car!" he shouted.

The blue light that was coming up quickly turned red, and the car came to an abrupt stop, crashing Raditz right into the back of Piccolo as the namekian's face was planted into the front windshield.

"Are you SURE you know what you're doing?" Piccolo gasped.

"If I ever find a woman of my own I assure you, green man, she will never dri-AHHHHHHH!" his shouts rang across the vicinity as he and Piccolo were shot across the road with a rage-filled instructor bent on discovering warp speed with a car.

Meanwhile, Goku and Raiza just watched, not even sure where to begin.

"O...k," Goku thought out loud. "I can... do that."

The elderly man stepped over to the car, grumbling to himself as he struggled to simply open the unlocked door.

"Ergh, let's see, come on now," he mumbled, finally planting his foot on the door while he pulled so hard, his face, and the hair on the backside of his head turned redder than a tomato.

Finally letting go, he turned back to his students. "And today's first lesson is, opening the door!"

On instinct, Goku and Raiza fell over.

**X X X**

Back home, Gohan sat bored in his room with his nose only partly in the books these days. He leaned back, glancing at his book with doodles of his father, Piccolo, his cousin, and his uncle driving cars in what seemed to be a race around a track.

He sighed. _I wonder what my dad and everyone else is doing right now..._

"Gohaaan!"

He quickly covered his drawing up with his hands as his mother opened the door and stepped inside.

"Gohan! You've been such a good boy, studying all day that I thought I'd bring you a snack."

"Thanks, Mom," he replied as a glass of orange juice was placed next to him.

"I know you've got a lot of catching up to do," she started. "And this should give you just the energy you need to really hit those books!"

"Oh boy, my favorite, thanks, Mom," Gohan tried to sound enthusiastic, but he just couldn't do it. Yet still, he knew his mother would buy it.

"You're welcome."

His mother left the room, and Gohan's boredom still remained.

Then a familiar growl was heard to his left at the window. A playful purple dragon had come to play, Gohan's playful purple dragon did, anyway.

"Hey!" he laughed while being licked by Icarus. "I can't play right now, I have to study!"

Then, an idea hit him.

"Hey, wait!" he glanced at his friend. "I've got an idea..."

**X X X**

Finally behind the driver's seat and taking the power away from their crazed instructor, Piccolo kept a calm and steady flow of driving.

"You're doing just fine, Mr. Piccolo. Are you _sure_ you haven't been driving before?"

On the other side of the track, Goku was having a much more difficult time adjusting to driving. Primarily doing a simple thing such as starting the engine.

"Alright, try it again. Start the engine," the old man instructed.

Goku simply glanced at the instrument panel, completely unsure of what to do.

"Well what's wrong?" he asked in a cranky tone.

"Uhh how do you start this thing again?" he asked as his nephew and instructor fell over.

"Come on I've showed you three times already. If you want really want to learn how to drive you better start paying attention!"

"Hey Uncle Kakarot," Raiza whispered into his ear. "you need to put that key into the-"

"No helping! I _know_ you know already."

"Sorry," he sat back in the backseat with his arms behind his head as he waited for the vehicle to eventually start.

"I will, give me another chance!" Goku begged.

"Why should I? You stink."

Taking it literally, Goku stuffed his nose into the nearest armpit and took a whiff of his scent. Nothing came up, and he looked back up at the instructor. "I don't smell anything? Are you sure?"

"I DON'T MEAN YOU!" he shouted. "YOUR DRIVING!"

A heavy sigh escaped the old man, but he finally calmed himself down. This one was definitely going to test his blood pressure. "Never mind. Just turn on the ignition, step on the accelerator and let the brake out slowly! Very slowly!"

"Oh!... Yeah, here we go!"

The reverse lights blinked on and the car roared to life, quickly shooting back, nearly flinging Raiza off of the car as it crashed into a support beam only seconds after taking off.

"Ughh... you're in reverse," the instructor sighed.

"This baby's got a lot of power, doesn't it?" Goku nervously laughed.

"My... head," Raiza whined as he rubbed it.

**X X X**

Back in the parking garage, another assortment of students slowly and carefully backed into the garage, only to be frightened half to death as Goku shot out of the area in another car at speeds unheard of from a training vehicle as the other two held on for dear life.

"YOU'RE DRIVING TOO FAST, YOU'VE GOT TO SLOW DOWN! STEP ON THE BRAKE!"

"Wh-What? But I thought I WAS stepping on the brake?

Another car drove towards them, panicking the ones behind the wheel and in the vehicle as Goku twisted the wheel as far as he could to avoid collision, knocking over cones along the way.

The car slammed onto its side, Raiza holding onto the back of the backseat and the console in the front for dear life.

"Hang on mister!" Goku shouted trying to get control of the vehicle.

"Why don't these damn things have seatbelts in the back?" Raiza shouted as the sparks from the metal and road came close to his face.

Finally, the car completely flipped over, landing correctly back down as the game of dodge the oncoming car resumed, sending others off of the road.

The poor old man's head was stuck on the edge of the seat. "Step... on the brake!"

"The brake?" Goku wondered. "Now... which one was that?"

"The one in the middle!" Raiza shouted. "Not the one on the right, the one in the middle!"

"The one on the right?"

"NO NOT THE-Ahhhhhhh!"

The car managed to fly even faster, shooting into a traffic tunnel as the shouts of people could be heard of those barely escaping head on collisions.

"Cut the ignition!"

"Huh?"

"CUT THE IGNITIONNNNN!"

"O...kay..."

"HURRY!"

Snapping into a serious focus, Goku powered his right hand, shouting a war cry as he karate chopped the steering wheel, ripping it right off of the instrument panel.

"Now what?" he asked, showing his instructor the wheel.

The car shot out of the tunnel as it broke through the street barrier, skidding once, twice, and finally stopping into a river on the third skip, slowly sinking into the water.

"I know that was kind of a rough start but, how long before I get my license?"

"Son, at this rate it'll take you a hundred years..."

"What? That's too long! My nephew and I have to get in shape for a battle against two killer androids and Chi-Chi's going to-dghgfdhssdjvsuefd!" his voice too distorted by the water to be coherent.

On the bridge just next to the river, a confident Piccolo kept his cool as he steadily kept the vehicle in working motion, never once breaking a rule.

"Really Mr. Piccolo, you're a natural!" complimented his instructor.

"Heh. No sweat," he replied, Raditz grunting at how long he had been driving while still not getting a chance himself. Not that he wanted to.

**X X X**

Ringing the water out of his handkerchief, the old instructor was amazed to have escaped with his life, once again.

"So is it my turn yet?" Raiza asked.

"Not yet, son. You can at least drive the car without cutting my life span down. We'll still need to focus with your uncle here," he glared, Goku awkwardly laughing.

"Go ahead," he said, massaging his neck. "But this time, go slow!"

"No problem," Goku replied with a serious face as his foot neared the pedal.

"Now then, put on your seatbelt... !" he slammed into the back of his seat as the car took off at an insane speed, even quicker than the last time.

"Alright! Look, I made it go forward this time!"

"SLOW DOWN BEFORE YOU BREAK THE SOUND BARRIER!"

"THERE... STILL... AREN'T... ANY... SEATBELTS!" Raiza gripped the edges of the backseat.

Meanwhile, while Goku's disaster on wheels gained up on the highway, a slowly moving Piccolo and Raditz team creeped down the highway at a slower than average speed.

"Okay, Mr. Piccolo, this is the highway. You don't have to drive like an old lady!" she cheerfully stated with an annoyed tone behind her voice.

"Better step it up, green man, those androids will show up and destroy the planet by the time we make it back," Raditz smirked as he kept his head laid back, gazing at the sky.

Piccolo grunted but shrugged off Raditz's comment; he was just mad he hadn't gotten the chance to drive yet.

"Woohoo!" Goku shouted as his car blasted past Piccolo's.

"Dad! Help!" Raiza yelled.

"Eat my dust, Piccolo!"

"WAS THAT A CHALLENGE? WELL IF IT'S A RACE YOU WANT, IT'S A RACE YOU'LL GET!"

In no time at all, Piccolo's vehicle fired up, setting the mood for the road raged instructor and a now eager Raditz who held onto the back of Piccolo's seat.

"Faster, green man! They're still ahead of us!"

"There. That's more like it, much better." his instructor calmly smiled.

Their vehicles blared past several other vehicles, somehow gaining even more speed as the possibility of breaking the sound barrier became more and more of a likelihood.

"You're holding back! Let me take the wheel!" Raditz complained.

"Not a chance!" Piccolo snapped as he shoved Raditz's hand off of the wheel.

On the sidelines, Gohan and Icarus simply watched as Goku and Raiza's car flew past them, followed by Piccolo and Raditz's not even a second after.

After making a sharp turn and somehow avoiding a spin out, Piccolo's car finally caught up, neck and neck with Goku's as they smirked at each other.

"You aren't winning that easily, little brother!" Raditz taunted.

"Dad, stop encouraging him! Do you know how many times we've almost died?" Raiza shot back.

The group made a surprise yelp as Piccolo's car shot up a steep hill. A moment later, the car slowly skidded down the side of the hill, edging closer to Goku's car.

"Look out!" the old man pointed.

"That was very impressive driving, Mr. Piccolo," the female instructor praised, moments before the cars bumped into each other. Their skidding going from side to side, finally, Goku and Raiza's car shot up, followed by Piccolo and Raditz's as a loud explosion ensued immediately after.

Carrying their instructors back down, Goku and Piccolo dropped to the ground, Raditz and Raiza right after them.

"Whew!" Goku said. "Luckily these two are going to be okay."

_The next day..._

"You four are by far the worst students to have ever attended this driving school," the old man said with an umbrella over his head as the rain poured down. "I'll give you all one last chance, but any more stunts like the ones yesterday, and I will see to it that you NEVER get your driver's licenses!"

The storm continued as Goku and Piccolo once again held the wheel in the second phase of this test, Raditz and his son already finishing their section and seemed to be on the right path to getting their licenses. However, they assured them that if one person fails, then it hurts the other person's chances as well.

"Boy," Goku pointed out. "This road sure is treacherous."

It was then he noticed a school bus filled with children waved at him, covered with their small yellow raincoats.

"Hi!" Goku waved.

"Both hands are _not_ on the steering wheel. Minus one point!"

Goku's face was shocked, he was testing him now?

"You're testing me now?" he glanced over to him.

"Your eyes are off the road. That's one more point!"

"No fair!" he whined, grunting as he slammed on the brakes, Raiza flying forward as his face planted into the middle console of the vehicle.

"Still... no... seatbelts... Uncle... why?"

"Hey what's the big idea? You almost snapped my forms teeth out! THAT'S TEN POINTS! SO THERE!"

Lightning crashed on the side of the mountain, dropping a small avalanche of snow that easily caught the bus off guard, shoving it towards the edge of the mountain side, barely balancing it as at any moment it could fall.

Doing the only thing he could think about doing, Goku slammed on the brakes once again, causing Piccolo's car to slam right into the back of the car, shattering the front windshield immediately.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" the old man yelled again.

"Raiza!" Goku declared before shooting himself out of the windshield after the bus that was about to fall over, his nephew quickly flying after him.

Piccolo took the hint, ramming his arm against the door as it fell off with ease, Raditz bursting out of the roof of the car as they quickly joined Goku's plan of saving the bus of children.

Finally, the snow was too much. The bus couldn't keep a limbo balance any longer as it gave way, plunging down below with everyone shouting for fear that it may be their last moments together.

Goku was the first to catch the bus. Then Raiza, then Piccolo, and Raditz finally joined them as they easily held the bus up.

"Kakarot!" Raditz pointed to a thick wave of snow collapsing from the mountain towards them. "That much force is gonna knock the bus off our balance!"

"Ugh. Piccolo, wait here! Come on you guys!"

As the namekian remained behind, Goku, Raditz, and Raiza broke away into a three man formation, taking a quick aim at the monstrous avalanche fast approaching.

With a unified shout, all three fired at the snow, Piccolo lending a hand as he fired a shot up of his own.

Finally, the snow exploded with the amount of force applied to it, only for a large boulder to continue to fall. With the boulder too close to Goku to fire, Raiza was the closest to him. He rushed to him, grappling him as he flew out of the way.

"Dad!"

"I know!"

Raditz took a quick aim with both his fists, unleashing a Double Sunday with a loud cry on the rock, destroying it in an instant.

A sigh of relief came from them all, the children on the bus, and the instructors. Moments later, the bus was planted back onto the road, and the skies cleared into a gorgeous blue filled atmosphere.

"Goodbye kids! Take care!" Goku waved with his nephew as Raditz and Piccolo stood with their arms crossed.

"Boy, sorry sir," Goku started as he glanced at the destroyed vehicles. "I guess we didn't get to finish the test... and I turned your new convertible into a compact... What a disaster."

But to his surprise, he wasn't met with harsh judgement and loathing. For once, he had a gentle tone to his voice.

"Hey, don't sweat it!"

Goku's eyes shot open. "You mean you're not gonna totally freak out or something?"

"Heh, no way! Not after witnessing that terrific rescue!"

With a bit of hope left, Goku scratched the back of his head. "Oh, hehe, then does that mean that I might still get my driver's license?"

The same smile on the old man's face turned into a quick shake of the head.

"Not a chance! You're a danger to everyone else on the road!"

"What about me?" Piccolo asked.

"I did technically save the day by destroying the rock. I think I should get my license if nothing else," Raditz smirked.

"Don't I get mine? I didn't destroy your car like my uncle did..."

"Ehhh," the old man thought, shaking his head right after. "All four of you are absolutely terrifying drivers! You'll probably all kill me before my diabetes does!"

Goku frowned. "Then we... all failed?"

The old man gave a nervous chuckle. "None of you passed, but so what? I'd trade my driver's license in a second for a chance to fly!"

"So would I!" the female instructor smiled.

_Oh man!_ Goku thought. _What's Chi-Chi going to say?_

**X X X**

"FAILED THE TEST?" she screamed. "What do you mean you failed the test? You mean to tell me none of you four muscle heads got your license?"

Goku nervously scratched his head. Yep, it was pretty bad.

"Uh... yeah..."

Unable to take the sheer amount of shock and awe, Chi-Chi fainted, crashing back onto the ground.

"Mom?"

"Was it something I said?" an oblivious Goku asked his unconscious wife.

**X X X**

In no time at all, the final year and a half came and went, and the day had finally come. The day of the third year was finally here.

Standing outside of Goku's home, five warriors stood to say their goodbyes to the woman who had put them up for as long as she did. Bulma had been generous enough to completely repair Raditz's armor, and tried a new design with Raiza's, with the same black leggings and sleeves, but with a chest piece giving only armor platings over the thigh areas. His father complimented the idea, stating that his grandfather, his father, wore something almost exactly like that.

"Promise me that you'll all take care of each other," she sadly requested. "How about a little lunch before you go?" she held a large bag of food, hopeful they would accept and she could see them one last time. It was true, even Raditz grew on her, and it would pain her if anything happened to either of them. To her, they were all like family now.

"Mom! We don't have time for that!" Gohan replied with an annoyed tone.

"Thanks, Chi-Chi, bye!" Goku waved. "Let's do it!"

Immediately, they phased completely out of sight, reappearing almost a mile further ahead in the sky as they headed towards their next destination.

Goku felt confident. The training had proved to be beneficial, but what put him at ease further was knowing how much stronger his brother and nephew had become. He naturally worried, but with the added firepower they had, he was almost excited to get this show on the road.

_Only you can change the course of the future now._ Trunks' voice rang through his head.

_Please, stop them._

**End Chapter 10**

**As you can tell, I tried to follow the script of the episode as best I could (obviously adding a few things =P) to give you as realistic a viewing as I could deliver.**

**And now here we are, right about to face down the Androids. Wonder how this will work out, now that we have two more saiyans under the wing of the Z-Fighters.**

**I just wanted to say again, all the support I have been getting is so appreciated. Every time I see someone giving me feedback, it makes me want to write even more. I think I can speak for all the other writers that even though you don't NEED reviews to keep writing, getting them only makes you work that much harder. It's a great feeling, and I will always appreciate everything every one of you do for me, even if it's a simple "Nice chapter!" it still helps in ways I cannot explain. So then, go ahead and do your thing, and I'll be getting started on this next chapter soon. See ya next time! -PD**


	11. Chapter 11

**So now here we are with Chapter 11, and things are finally starting to set into motion. I wonder what we can expect coming up? Let's take a look at how Raditz and Raiza's appearance will affect the story.**

**Some of you have asked me if Raditz can go SS yet. I'll let you figure it out for right now. We know that Raiza went super, once, just in a fit, and we've seen him 'almost' hit it when fighting Piccolo. But anyway, let's not worry about that too much right now, we'll get there when we do. =)**

"Gohan!" Goku called ahead. "Slow down son, you're gonna want to save your energy for the fight."

"Okay!" he responded, letting himself fall back to the group.

"Was this really all we could accomplish in three years? I just feel like there was so much more I could have accomplished," Piccolo thought out loud.

"Well I think all things considered, we're a lot more ready now than if we hadn't done anything," Raiza said. "I mean, if we didn't do anything, then there'd be no point for us to even go fight these guys."

"Maybe. Just feels like I could have done more. Get faster, stronger, something."

"Kakarot," Raditz spoke up while his son and the namekian continued talking. "That place I trained at. Can we only train there once?"

"Huh? Oh, no, you can go in one more time."

"WHAT?" he shouted. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME? I WOULD HAVE GONE BACK IN!"

"Well, gee, Raditz, I just didn't think it would be necessary. You can only use the Hyperbolic Time Chamber twice, ever. After that it's off limits for good. If you stay any longer you'll be locked in forever, with no way out."

"Dad," Raiza cut in. "I think he's right. We gotta really be conservative with a big thing like that. What if something even bigger comes our way? We're gonna need that advantage and not just use it all right away."

He huffed, keeping quiet as they flew past miles upon miles of identical islands. After what felt like hours, but was mere minutes, they finally came into view a large island, with a bustling metropolis below them. Every inch of this island was habited, and seemed extremely prosperous.

"This is where it starts?" Raiza asked his uncle as they hovered high above the city, glancing around at the unsuspecting victims.

He nodded. "Yeah, from what Trunks was telling me, this is where it all begins. But this is where we're gonna stop em! Now where are... oh, there they are!"

Pointing over to a small raising to the side of the mountain, the others followed to find Yamcha and Tien waving to them, signaling their descent. On the side of them, a fairly slimmed down Bulma waved with one hand, holding what appeared to be a baby in the other. In front of the group, an eager Krillin greeted them, following, his face quickly turned to a look of shock and fear as the others followed the same.

"Goku!" Krillin shouted. "Watch out!" he held a hand out, charging a quick blast of ki, but Goku shot down in time to stop his best friend from firing it off.

"Whoa, hold on, Krillin, what's up?" then he realized, of course, no one had seen him in such a long time, nor had anyone ever seen Raiza, or Raditz for that matter except for Vegeta and Piccolo.

"Look you guys, it's a long story, but you gotta trust me on this. Raditz is _not_ the same person he was back then. Neither is his son," he pointed.

"What?" Tien glanced over at Raiza, then back to Raditz, then repeated the process with all three eyes for a final time.

"Huh," he concluded. "Yeah, I can see a resemblance," yet he wasn't quite satisfied. "Care to explain how all this happened, Goku?"

"Long story short," Piccolo cut in. "This is Raditz's son, Goku's nephew, Raiza. He came here looking to fight Goku to avenge his father, but as you can see we were able to come to a compromise. Turns out Raditz isn't such a bad guy like we had originally thought. Because of that, Goku used the Dragon Balls to wish Raditz back to help us fight the Androids."

"Well hey, why not?" Yamcha tried to put some enthusiasm to the situation. "It's not like we were all great guys at one point. I mean, Piccolo, Tien, me. Oh _man_, me!" he laughed.

Just then, Raditz's glance shifted over to Bulma. More specifically, the baby she was holding in her arms.

"You. Where is his tail?" he demanded.

She gasped, how did she know? When she was pregnant she was so sure she had been wearing loose enough clothing to conceal that... or so she had thought. "Wh-What?"

"The child, that's Vegeta's boy, isn't it? So what happened to its tail? Kakarot's son had one even though he was half."

Gulping, she finally planted her case down with the firm look of a mother. "I had it removed when he was born."

The stinging feeling in his brain set off, even Raiza's eyes shot open at the sound of that. Cutting off the tail? It was barbaric in every sense to traditional saiyans such as them. You might as well cut off their hands and feet, limiting them the way that it did.

"And... and he _knows_?" Raditz fumed. "How could you do something so barbaric!"

"Hey! He's _my_ son, if I think him having a tail is too dangerous, then I can see to it that it gets removed!"

"Ugh!" Raditz's anger was ever apparent. How could Vegeta, the _prince_ even allow such an atrocity? He would definitely have to talk to him about it. Seems all this time down on this planet has clouded his judgement.

Which reminded him, Vegeta wasn't with them. Where was he?

"Where... is he, by the way?"

The others glanced around, then to Bulma, who simply glared at them before turning away.

"Like I even care where that pig went! He's probably still training, not even realizing what's going on right now. That's so like him, he probably didn't even fix the clock I had installed into the capsule so he could-"

While Bulma continued to rant to herself, Raiza focused on calming his father down.

"You okay, Dad?"

"No, but I suppose we have bigger things to worry about than the mutilation of this poor child," he glanced over to his brother. "How do you propose we find these Androids? Didn't you mention earlier they couldn't be sensed?"

"Yeah. That's the problem, we're going to have to get down there and look for them personally," he replied.

After moments of discussing their plans, the Z-Fighters concluded they would have to get their feet dirty and search the city and search for the Androids themselves. However, it was rather difficult to find something they weren't very sure about, in terms of appearances, anyway.

The minutes turned to hours, and hours kept piling up. Raiza kept his eyes peeled, though he still wasn't sure for what he was peeling them for; it looked just like West City.

_Man, this is such a pain. What was the point of learning how to sense powers when I can't sense the thing we're suppose to be fighting? Damn it, I knew I should have just held onto my scouter. At least then I could probably filter some of these people out_

He turned the corner of the block, stepping down and passing by an ice cream parlor. He glanced into the window and peered around the small audience inside.

Then his eyes shot open, there was a girl inside. A beautiful one, with blonde hair and-

_No... that's not her. It's too long, and I thought she had blue eyes?_ he pondered to himself. He missed them, his very short-lived friendship with the two orphans who took care of other orphans. Times like this made him wish he had come back sooner to visit, maybe he would have found out where they were planning on moving to.

_Snap out of it, what's the matter with you?_ he cursed himself as he kept walking, still glancing around hoping to find something, something he had no idea about.

"Interesting."

High above the city, two figures examined the ground below. Catching glimpse of the son of Raditz, they examined him, and came to the accurate conclusion by their data who they were looking at.

"Interesting, indeed. There's no mistaking that is Raiza. Quite stronger than the data suggested, but not strong enough," he smirked. "He will make for an ample source of energy."

"Yes, 20."

"19. Let's go."

The more he thought about it, the more he realized, the streets were slowly becoming emptier, and emptier. The beach was to his right, and to the left was the road back into town, but it was as if people just all went back inside.

Then something caught his ear.

He quickly added an off-time step to his pace, a trick he learned from his father when you thought somebody was following you. Make it slight, you'll notice, and they won't, and you can plan what to do then. Make a run for it, or completely stop, and you'll start something you may not win.

Sure enough, he heard steps not far behind him.

"I could actually use some help," Raiza said out loud, coming to a stop. "I'm looking for some people. Well, they're actually androids."

He turned around, keeping his face firm and stiff as he examined his followers. An elderly man, with a tall black bowler hat and long flowing white hair, and a short obese man with white makeup and a pointed hat, like a clown. Their piercing blue eyes brought a small chill to him, but even worse, was something that distinguished them as the thing he had been searching for; yet ironically, it was they who found him.

_RR?... Red Ribbon... yeah I think I remember hearing about that when Kakarot was telling me some of his stories. That's where they were made. Shit, great, why do I have to find these guys?_

"We are they," Dr. Gero calmly spoke.

"Shit."

**X X X**

A small cluster of explosions immediately put Goku on the alert as he tried to feel out the energy. Someone had started fighting. Good and bad. Good because even though something bad was happening, they knew where the androids were now. Then, he finally locked in.

_Raiza. Ugh, I'm on the other side of town, gotta hurry!_

Before he could take off or warn the others, Raiza quickly shot up into the sky, facing the ground as two other figures chased him, engaging him in a massive offensive. Raiza was struggling on the defense, barely given any chances to launch a counter attack while he dodged flurries of fists and kicks.

_Damn it!_ Raiza thought. _These guys are fast! I don't even have enough time to power up. Ah man, what a way to start the morning._

Finally seeing an opening, Raiza ducked from one of Dr. Gero's kicks, slamming his fist into the gut of 19, jumping up and shooting him into the beach water with a shin to the head.

Not wanting to give the up to his opponents, he gave chase to the clown, somersaulting in the air before jamming his heel into the android's face, causing an enormous explosion within the water as he plunged to the ocean floor.

With no movements for the moment, Raiza smirked as he turned to Dr. Gero.

"Looks like it's just me and you now, gramps."

"Fool. You really believe you stand a chance against me on your own? You couldn't even defeat number 19, and I can assure you, I am far superior to him in _every_ way possible."

"Yeah, I'm sure that drop kick I gave Bozo really shows how weak I am in comparison," he smirked. "Sorry to break it to you, but we've _known_ you guys were coming."

Dr. Gero's shot open. How could they have known? "Explain yourself! I knew there was a reason why the powers here were too high."

"Don't worry about it, it's not important. What is important however, is that you're about to hurt pretty badly, my friend. You see, my uncle is a pretty nice guy. If you were fighting him, and you gave up, he'd probably let you go."

Raiza was finally arm's length away from the android doctor, his smirk growing wider as his energy began to blaze into Gero's scanners. Scanners, Raiza had no idea he was pleasing.

"Too bad for you, I'm not that nice."

Dr. Gero gritted his teeth, but kept his lips sealed so that he showed no concern on the outside. "Very well. I will humor you before I put an easy end to you."

"Go right ahead then, I'm ready whenever you are!"

Raiza's energy soared higher, at this point giving the doctor only more and more satisfaction. More so, because of how the young fool could not see, or sense 19 standing right behind him.

Then he grabbed, and Raiza was frozen solid. His tail, someone had grabbed it. But it wasn't like how it used to be, back when it used to hurt. No, he trained it to not be a weakness. But this was different, someone was _taking_ things _out_ of his tail.

But he couldn't move, and his energy wouldn't go up anymore. Instead, it went down, very fast, and very suddenly.

"Now, then. You needn't fear," Dr. Gero crossed his arms, getting in Raiza's pale face as his energy quickly sapped from him. "I assure you, this is a very painless death in comparison to what we could have done to you. However," he smirked. "I'm afraid this is the end for you. This boost of energy will most certainly give us a necessary edge over Goku, if in fact you had prepared like you said you did."

Raiza opened his mouth to scream, but he couldn't. Right when he used the last of his strength to attempt to shout, a cold and clammy hand slapped over his lips, and the vacuum effect of the energy hit him once again.

His mind raced, but his heart wouldn't. He was looking around, but no one was coming. His eyes moved and moved, but his vision... slow, blurry. He was dizzy, almost as if he were just waking up.

Tired... that's what he was.

His body finally fell, but voices and sounds echoed in his head as his body was caught almost as soon as it freely dropped. Who was it? He didn't really care, he just wanted to sleep now... it felt right to sleep now.

As an aggravated pair of androids pulled themselves out of the ground, and out of the side of a building, Goku and the others stood ready to fight once more.

Raiza's cold and still body in the arms of Yamcha completely terrified him. When he landed, he could easily tell he was on level with Goku and his father, and he was taken out that quickly by the Androids? It was unreal.

"Yamcha," Goku said, glancing at where the Androids began to pick themselves up. "Take Raiza back to where Bulma is. Get him a Sensu Bean, hurry!"

"Yeah. I gotcha."

Without a moment to spare, he quickly bursted away from the group. Hopefully it wasn't too late for him.

"Very good, Goku. As expected, you came quite prepared," Dr. Gero complimented.

"What did you do to Raiza? Tell me!" he demanded.

Dr. Gero simply smiled as he and 19 immediately flashed a thick golden aura around them. Even though their power levels could not be felt, they were noticeably frightening. If they had taken all that energy from Raiza, and shared it, there was no telling how powerful they were now.

"It is nothing for you to concern yourself with, Goku. We simply took a loan on his energy... Yes, he was quite satisfactory."

Goku's anger shot through the roof, but he had to keep it together. Piccolo, Tien, Gohan, and Krillin stood next to him, so numbers were not an issue. The issue was the city, who knows how many people could be hurt if this fight dragged out.

But wait, where was Raditz?

**X X X**

Curse his inability to sense power levels. He just couldn't figure it out, even when his son explained it to him, it just seemed too mystic to him. Ki he could understand fine, just like his father told him. Focus on one point, build it like you're blowing air into a plastic bag, then release.

_Wait a minute, why can't I just apply that then?_ he pondered as a small group of people passed him by. He thought about it, then tried it. Feeling, searching, filling himself with the familiarity of his energy, then searching for something, attempting to feel for something close to it.

Then the first thing he felt, was something he wasn't expecting to feel at all.

Someone's power had drastically fallen. And it was moving away from him, fast.

That could only mean one thing. Someone had been fighting, someone strong. No, he wouldn't put his son in that unthinkable situation. It had to have been someone else, Kakarot, or the green man, but not his son. Regardless, his paranoia as a parent took over, and he quickly blasted himself up off the ground, not worrying about the initial shock he sent to people around him as he flew back to where he last felt this new descending energy.

When Yamcha landed, he laid Raiza's cooling body on the grass, Bulma gasping already.

"What happened?" she asked.

"The Androids. They sucked his energy right out of him. We need a Sensu Bean, right now! Do you have one?"

"Yeah, Yajirobe dropped off a bag not too long ago."

Before Yamcha could take a bean from his ex, something surged in his head as he looked up.

Raditz slowly descended, his eyes glazing from absolute shock at what he was looking at.

"What... no... no it can't be!"

He rushed over to his son's side, throwing himself onto his knees as he cradled his neck, holding it up. His eyes were completely whited out, his skin was barely warm to the touch.

Then his anger set in as he turned to Yamcha, snarling at him and ready to end his life at a moment's notice. "What happened to him? Tell me, now!"

"The Androids... they got him. We couldn't get to him in time, they were too quick. They drained his energy."

"And you did NOTHING?" he glared.

Yamcha started getting nervous, feeling somewhat relieved that Gohan and Krillin landed next to him, probably directed by Goku, but still a little on edge by the steadily angering father.

"Raditz, look," Yamcha held his hands out. "I have something that's going to help him. I gotta give it to him right now or he's going to die."

"What? Give it to me!" he demanded.

Not wanting to deal with any more drama, Yamcha simply handed him the Sensu Bean. Raditz sneered at the tiny green vegetable. "Is this some sort of joke? What is this little pea going to do?"

"It's a Sensu Bean. If he eats it, he'll get all his strength back."

It was better than nothing. He slid the bean into his son's mouth, gently motioning his mouth to chew and allow the small morsel to travel down.

A few moments later the color in Raiza's eyes screamed back to life, he shot up as he gasped for air, coughing harshly after he swallowed too much air at once.

"Good, you're awake," his father smiled, wiping his eyes.

It wasn't something Bulma or Yamcha were expecting to see. Raditz, the last time they saw or heard anything about him, was nothing to what they were seeing now. He was concerned, caring, he was almost crying. It was actually borderline scary for a second.

"Dad? Where am I?"

"You got knocked out. Those things got to you and drained your energy."

"!" he panicked, everyone else, where were they? "Dad, we gotta go find them. Those guys are way too strong!"

"You don't think Kakarot can handle this?"

"All they have to do is get an open spot and they'll get him. Then what happens when they have all his energy?"

All the talk about the Androids and energy put something into Bulma's mind that she hadn't thought about in a while. She couldn't place it... but something was definitely on the tip of her tongue.

"Hey, you guys," she spoke up, getting their attention. "Did Goku ever get sick while you were training?"

They shook their heads after glancing at each other.

"Okay, did Goku _ever_ tell you about a boy from the future? Maybe something about him getting sick?"

"Wait!" Raiza spoke up. "He told me something about a heart virus that kills him in some other timeline." he stood up, realizing what he just said. "Dad, do you think-"

"We should get it just to be safe. I never saw Kakarot taking it with him when we left, and I know I don't have it," he looked towards Bulma. "Does he have it?"

"Mhm, he probably has it somewhere back at his house."

"I figured as much," he placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "Son. I want you to go find your uncle and help them fight the Androids. I'll go get that medicine. If he starts to contract it now, there's no telling what could happen if we aren't prepared."

"Okay," he nodded. "But, wait, how can you find me? You don't know how to... you know."

"No. I know now... it's how I found you. I'll figure it out, now get going!"

With a quick nod, they split off into different directions. Raiza flew in a different way. He knew they had left, he could feel it in the city; the power was all gone, moved, not empty like when someone had died.

A second later, he sensed a smaller power close behind him. He turned to his left and noticed Yamcha close to his side.

"Don't worry man, I won't slow you down. I can pull my weight."

"Fine by me. Extra man is an extra man."

As for Raditz, he quickly bursted through the sky, never once in his life, well, first life, he would be rolling the dice searching for medicine that may or may not save his brother's life, if something happened. He was hoping it wouldn't come to it, but experience- and death- have taught him to never take things lightly anymore.

**X X X**

Finally landing at the decision of Dr. Gero, Goku, Tien, and Piccolo stood across from the two mechanical monstrosities.

Yet for some reason, Goku was sweating, not just in a small amount, he was nearly drenched in it. He was taking harsh, deep breaths. Tien was the first to notice as he carefully watched him. Maybe he was just upset over the older android destroying the city.

"Before we get this little show started, I want to know how you know our names," Goku asked, in and out of breaths.

There it went again, this time Tien knew something was up, but he couldn't figure out what. _What's up with Goku? Why is he out of breath? He couldn't have used that much energy flying here..._

"Yes of course, as you wish," Gero replied. "Though I doubt it will matter much to you after a few moments, when you have been ground to a pulp. But if this is the last thing you wish to hear before you die, I will tell you."

Goku's breathing only got worse, but he controlled it, somehow, as he listened to what the android had to say.

"You have been under close observation for some time, by a highly sophisticated remote tracking device. This device was calibrated to hone in on your exact energy pattern, and was planted on you during the World Martial Arts tournament when you were still a boy. From that day forward, your every movement was monitored. Every fighting technique, studied. Secrets of your Kamehameha, revealed. Over the years, Dr. Gero followed your many battles, and witnessed your skills develop at a remarkable rate. He watched as your power soared to astounding new heights, and by watching, he learned."

Confident in his explanation, he gave a nod, concluding. "You were studied until Dr. Gero had gathered enough information to create the perfect fighting machine. Powerful machines. Machines fully capable of destroying you. The way you destroyed the Red Ribbon Army."

That name? He hadn't heard it in years. That's what this was all about?

"This is just a grudge?" he asked.

"From the day you defeated the Red Ribbon Army, Dr. Gero dreamed only of revenge. We will realize his dream."

"So you're supposed to be one of these perfect fighting machines, I take it," Piccolo spoke up.

He turned his attention to the namek. "Yes I am. I have been designed by my creator to be superior to you in every possible way. A shame he could not live to see this day."

"I'm curious," Goku started. "was he studying me while I was fighting on planet Namek? Or what about two years ago when my nephew came to fight me?"

"There was no more need. By that time, Dr. Gero had compiled all of the information concerning your skills. He did however, make small note of young Raiza's style in comparison to yours, but it was for the mere fact that he simply _could_, not because there was ever once a need. It was _assumed_ that your power would continue to increase over time, so that increase was calculated and factored into our design."

Goku simply smirked. They knew a lot, but there was so much they were missing. "You may think you know everything there is about me, but really, you're not even close."

Dr. Gero's eyes shot open, what did he say? "Hm?"

"Your calculations," Piccolo spoke up. "did they predict that Goku would be a Super Saiyan?"

"Super Saiyan?" he asked.

Goku was ready, no more talk now. He concentrated his energy as he flared up, his shouts swelling, and growing, until he shouted one last cry and transformed right before their very eyes.

"Piccolo and Tien, stay out of this. It looks as if they only want me, and that's exactly what they're gonna get!" he said as his energy flared even higher, his power not even close to its ceiling yet.

"This is a most unexpected element, indeed," Dr. Gero said calmly.

"This technique is not listed in my files, 20," 19 pointed out.

"Nor in mine," he replied. "but my sensors indicate there is no cause for concern, especially after the energy we drained from Raiza. Yes, it is a most impressive ability!" he praised. "But it is nothing we cannot handle. 19 will demonstrate this by himself." to which the obese android simply nodded.

"Heh. Alright, have it your way. But I wouldn't bank on it if I were you!" Goku confidently responded, flaring up one last time as he shot himself towards his opponent.

**X X X**

Stopping mid-air, Raiza felt an insanely high power level come out of nowhere. It had to be his uncle.

"Hey, you feel that?" Yamcha asked.

"Yeah, that's my uncle, it has to be!" he replied as they shot towards the area.

_Kakarot, man I hope this virus doesn't show up after all. I'm counting on you, Father, you have to hurry!_

**End Chapter 11**

**Well there you go. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I'll be starting on the next one pretty soon. If you'll note (for some people who are confused about how I would use Dr. Gero), we already know Android #20 is Dr. Gero (right?) yet in the anime you will constantly see Dr. Gero referring to himself in the third person, and even 19 doesn't recognize him as Dr. Gero, but simply as 20. Not sure why he did that, but whatevs, we'll go with it for now, right? No? Well fine =(**

**Once again thanks for all of the feedback and encouragement. Means the world to me and always will. And yes, I probably will keep saying this. Accept my gratitude, damn it! Till next time. -PD**


	12. Chapter 12

**Damn... I misspelled "Senzu Bean."**

**Yeah, that's all I was gonna say. Next chapter!**

The fight had only just started moments ago, and Piccolo was noticing something very off about Goku's fighting. Tien hadn't noticed, boasting about how Goku had already won the fight, and even though Goku was completely outmaneuvering 19, his hits were seriously lacking in power.

_Weird... it's like he's hit his max already. No, that can't be it. He was stronger than this when he fought Frieza, and he wasn't even a Super Saiyan at that time. I don't like this._

Dr. Gero's scanners blinked in his eye as he noticed the descent of four fighters landing by Piccolo and Tien. First Raiza, then Yamcha, then Gohan and Krillin quickly after.

"Hey, Piccolo, how's he doing?" Raiza asked.

Piccolo watched him for a moment longer, finally giving his observation. "Do you notice how hard he's trying?"

"Huh?" Raiza wondered as he studied the fight himself.

Goku would weave away from 19s attacks, counter, slam him away, then begin again. It was a very constant repetition, but something was seriously lacking. There wasn't any stopping power behind his uncle's hits. They were fast enough, but the most they would leave would be a bruise. The android was hardly being damaged.

"What's he holding back for?"

"He isn't, that's the problem!" Piccolo replied. "He's maxed out, he isn't going to last much longer if he keeps this up."

"Wha, but," Gohan glanced at his father, panting and taking sharp breaths every chance he could. He was exhausted, no, even further than exhausted. Pure adrenaline kept him going, and his willpower to fight. He was sure even he could deliver harder hits, and that wasn't a good sign.

Finally, Goku smashed 19 into the ground, placing his hands to his side as he quickly chanted his most famed attack.

"Ka... me... ha... me...!"

Then Raiza's face surged with a realization of what was happening. "Wait! You can't use that! They'll!-"

"HAAAAAAA!"

He was too late. The large blast stormed itself towards 19, who cynically chuckled as he held out a hand, quickly trapping the energy and sucking it like water down the drain, until it was finally gone.

"What? How?" Goku asked himself.

"Uncle!" Raiza called to him. "You can't use energy attacks, they absorb energy. That's what happened when they grabbed me, and I figure if they can suck energy out of the body, they can probably suck it out of raw energy itself. You gotta beat em the old fashion way!" he scowled. "And actually try! Why are you just messing with him?"

Goku was wheezing at this point. His chest was burning, aching. He wished he was just toying with 19, but he wasn't. He was fighting just to stay in control, and even that was slipping further and further away by the second.

Then 19 shot back up, taking Goku completely by surprise. The first few strikes were dodged, and Goku retaliated back, but at long, painful last, 19 got the edge up on him. They were solid, brutal, and worst of all, Goku was trying to block right after he had been hit. His slowed reaction time could only attribute to one thing: He was going to lose.

"Father!" Gohan cried. "We have to help him!"

Goku crashed down into the ground, barely keeping his footing as he struggled to keep up on one knee.

He held his hand towards his son with an open palm. "Gohan!... St- ugh, stay!"

_What's going on? I feel like I'm dying... urgh, my chest is... feels like someone is squeezing my heart._

The pain became too unbearable, gripping his chest in a futile attempt to alleviate the pain, his head hunching over as the pain worsened even further.

Then it hit Gohan.

"Ah! It's that virus! It's attacking his heart right now! Father!"

"I knew it," Raiza whispered to himself. "Father, please, hurry."

**X X X**

Raditz nearly crashed into the ground in front of his brother's home, knocking on the door. Quickly, his sister-in-law answered the door.

"Raditz?" she asked. "What's wrong?-"

"I need that medicine!"

"Medicine?"

"The one that boy from the future gave my brother. We don't know if he'll contract it during the battle with the Androids, so I need to get it to be safe!"

"Do you think that... ?"

"I don't know, Chi-Chi, but I need it so I can get back and help them fight. Now please, tell me where it is!"

"It's... here."

A few moments of fumbling through the drawers in the living room, she pulled out a small capsule, her brother by law grabbing it right from her.

"You're sure this is it?"

"Yes, I'm positive."

"Thank you, I need to go now."

Just as quickly as he came, Raditz was out the door and blasting into the sky towards the direction he originally came from.

_Either I'm not sensing things right, or something is happening... someone's energy is falling? And it's a big one. I need to get there quicker._

**X X X**

19 gloated over his victory, choking Goku with his fist as the saiyan struggled not only for air, but also for the last thread of life he was hanging onto now.

"I can't do this anymore!" Raiza yelled. "I'm done fucking waiting!"

Before anyone could react, Goku's nephew launched himself towards the battle, determined to stop this thing from hurting his uncle, or worse, kill him.

_I know what that thing is doing to him. I gotta stop it!_

"Let's move!" Piccolo ordered. "Goku needs our help, we have to back Raiza up!"

As the rest of the Z-Fighters quickly caught up to Raiza, Dr. Gero quickly phased himself from the ground, up into the sky and in the path of the fighters.

"You will do as you are told, and not interfere with this fight. That is, unless any of you think you have what it takes to get past me."

"I'd rather die, than try!"

Raiza swung a hook to the android, quickly he ducked beneath it and grabbed his fist. In a fluid motion, he saw the namek also rush him. Gero's eyes quickly filled with energy as he shot point blank in between Raiza's eyes, then spinning and flung him into Piccolo, the momentum spiraling them into the ground.

"!" Gohan gasped. His cousin, and his teacher, also the strongest among them after his father were effortlessly stopped by the elder android.

"Ugh," Tien growled. "We gotta do something. We can't just stand here while that thing drains Goku!"

And as fate would have it, mere moments passed by before 19 was harshly kicked in the face and skidded away from Goku's still body.

"If anybody is going to finish of Kakarot, it's me. Destiny has reserved that right for me, and only me."

The singing pain of the eye beam still rang in Raiza's ears. Had the android been an inch more accurate, it would have killed him. Instead, he just had a headache.

He glanced over at the man standing by Goku, not even noticing Gohan landing beside them, helping him and Piccolo up.

"Vegeta," he said to himself, then smiling. "Heh. About time!"

Vegeta glanced over at the now standing saiyan. "And why haven't you finished these machines off either? And where is your father?"

"Oh. Well I uh... see Dad went to go get the medicine for Kakarot's heart virus. We tried a Senzu Bean but it didn't work, so we figured it was that."

"That still doesn't answer my question," Vegeta gazed, harshly. "You could not handle these two? Neither could Kakarot?"

"I didn't get here in time... and I-"

"No, I get it. You just can't do it yet," the prince smirked.

"Do what?- Oh! Hey! Yes I can!" he snapped back.

Now arrogantly chuckling to himself, he scowled down at his rival, disappointed at his current state.

"How pitiful, Kakarot. You _knew_ about the heart virus, yet you allowed yourself to be taken advantage of by these simpletons."

With a light kick, Vegeta launched Goku's body in the direction of Piccolo, who easily caught him.

"Yamcha," Piccolo said, still looking towards Vegeta. "Take Goku back to his house. He needs the medicine, and if you run into Raditz along the way, keep going. By the way," he glanced to him. "You better take some yourself. If that virus is contagious, there's a good chance you could get it too."

"Right. Don't worry, we'll be okay."

"I'm counting on you, Yamcha!" Gohan said.

"I promise. I'll take care of him," and with that, the desert bandit was in the air, carefully, but quickly flying back towards Goku's home.

19 was about ready to stop him, but Gero stopped him with a simple wave of the hand. "Let them go. They are of no concern to us. You have clearly proven yourself more than capable of defeating Goku, we can dispose of him at the moment of our choosing."

All the while, Vegeta remained where he was, confident it was his turn to fight, and all he needed to do was wait for them to acknowledge it.

"Let me ask you something, does a machine like you experience fear?" he smirked.

"Enough of this. Fool. 19, dispose of Vegeta."

"Yes, 20," the android smiled, taking a fighting stance.

"I was watching your fight with Kakarot. So I've seen your energy absorbing technique. Oh well, if I can't blast you away I'll have to pound you into a pulp!"

"You know some of my moves, but I know _all_ of yours, Vegeta," he flicked his earring, signaling his charge with fist raised.

And as for Vegeta, he did nothing.

But then, when 19 was merely a few feet away, Vegeta finally acted.

"I think it's time I showed you what you're rushing down towards," he smiled. "Are you ready to see a power that has been kept locked away for over a thousand years?"

Before 19 hit him, he was blasted back by a gust of wind emitting form Vegeta, as his hair began to wave, his muscles bulged, and his eyes and brows began to change color to color.

Raiza watched alongside the others, knowing exactly what he was looking at. "He did it."

As for Dr. Gero, surprise and fear shot down his very circuitry. "Not him too?"

With one final scream, he unleashed his swelling energy, cloaking his hair and eyes into their new transformation as he cratered the earth around him, blowing 19 even further back as his screams were shouted to the heavens.

Yet 19 ignored this, charging as fast as he could until his fist collided into Vegeta's face. In a hysterical fit, he began to pummel Vegeta further and further, assured of his victory until he finally landed his final strike.

And as for Vegeta, his head which was knocked back tilted back forward.

"Just as I thought, you're nothing!"

"Huh?" 19's cybernetic voice rang of confusion.

"Silly robot. Do you really think you have a chance against a Super Saiyan like me? Your brain must be malfunctioning!"

"Fresh out of the factory with no warranty, and already broken. What a pity," his light steps worried the android slightly as he stepped back for each step Vegeta planted forward.

19 was slammed by a powerful kick, bursting almost through his stomach, but merely stretching far.

The android experienced pain for the first time that day, howling as an elbow from Vegeta sent him crashing into a rocky outcrop nearby.

"My, my. What do we have here?" Vegeta taunted as he stood above the android. "Oh yes. The ultimate tub of lard, bucket of bolts!"

In a flash, 19 jumped back up, flying towards Vegeta, but was easily anticipating as the prince shot himself down, delivering a hard kick that sent the android flying straight into the air.

19 re-stabilized himself in the air before Vegeta got in front of him.

"So. Are you scared yet?"

Angrily volleying fists to him, pushing his power towards the limits as the saiyan prince simply danced away from each and every one. Finally acting on an opening, Vegeta simply gave a straight to 19's face, his frustration growing higher as blood dripped from his nose.

"I think you have an oil leak," the prince smirked. "What a bad deal! Such a fragile unit."

He fired a pair of eye beams to Vegeta, only to meet with an after-image as the prince appeared behind him. Upsetting him even further, 19 shot around and began his barrage once more, meeting only air, and nothing else.

"I must say, for a box of legos, I'm almost impressed," Vegeta taunted. "Tell me, did my son Trunks build you? He's only a year old and such an imagination, you look like something he would make."

19 attempted a kick, easily blocked as Vegeta kneed the android in its gut, balling his fists and slamming the obese fighter down into the ground.

"Nice aiming, Vegeta!" Raiza shouted as he and the other Z-Fighters jumped out of the way before the android crashed into them all.

The crater was massive for sending one person down inside. To think Vegeta had all of this power, it made the others think they truly had a chance.

The prince landed below, beside the android as he attempted to taunt him some more.

"Despicable. What a useless machine!"

And that is when he got him. In a quick jump, 19 was fortunate Vegeta was so close as his fists quickly found a home onto the saiyan prince's wrists.

"Ah! Ohhh yes!" he cheered for himself. "I have you now. And soon, I will have all of your energy."

Dr. Gero's uneasiness finally subsided at the sight of his creation clearly gaining the upper hand.

"Oh no!" Krillin yelled. "Not good, that thing's gonna take all of his energy!"

"He's so at ease though..." Raiza thought out loud. "It's like he knows he can get away, or he's got too much energy for that thing to handle?" he looked at Piccolo towards the end of his thought.

"Possibly," the namekian replied. "I would still be ready."

"Yeah."

"Do not try to escape this. It is useless. Until I have all of your energy, I will never let you go," 19 proudly declared.

"Never, huh?" Vegeta smirked. "Let's see."

**X X X**

As Yamcha continued to glide the precious cargo on his back, the sweat from Goku's clothes dripped onto his own gi. But he ignored it; Goku was going through a lot worse than for Yamcha to be worried about how to get the smell out of his clothes.

"Come on, man. I know you'll be okay, you always are. Even when we were kids."

Before he could reminisce of the past, someone's energy clicked in his head. Then, a fast approaching white light came into view as it drew closer and closer.

"Who...?"

Then finally, it stopped in front of him.

"Kakarot?" Raditz asked. "What happened to him?"

"That heart virus. He started showing signs of it when he was fighting the android."

"Damn it! I knew this would happen!" his brother growled. "I have the medicine. Here. Take him back to his home and make sure he gets it, right now."

"What about you?"

"I'm going back to help my son. What would you do?" he finished before blasting back off in the direction Yamcha came from.

_Raditz... I don't get you, man. You're a completely different person almost. Still an asshole, but you're fighting with us now? I don't get this, at all._

As Raditz began weaving through the large rocky outcrops, a large explosion was heard, and seen, only a few miles away.

"What was that?" he wondered. "Three large powers. I know Raiza is there... and the green man... Vegeta?"

**X X X**

"Malfunction... ... ..."

19's severed robotic head finally sat still in terms of voice and movement after Vegeta finally got serious with his last attack.

"I only wish there was a junkyard nearby so we could give him a proper burial! Heheh."

Vegeta touched down, merely a couple of feet away from the visibly upset Dr. Gero.

"Man! That android's toast!" Krillin said.

"Yeah... more like, burnt toast," Piccolo added in. Raiza merely gave him a look thinking _Really? Burnt toast?_

"Mmm... You are a bit stronger than I anticipated," the android said. "But it is nothing I cannot handle. Your defeat is eminent."

Vegeta simply chuckled as he let himself down his transformation, turning back into his base state.

"Yes, your friend managed to steal _quite_ a bit of energy from me before I stomped him!" he said while patting his side. "Now's _your_ chance to beat me! A vicious attack _now_ could be sufficient."

_How could he be so confident?_ the android thought. _What is he hiding?... Yes, he is shrewd. He seems completely at ease, but is he?_

"Let me ask you this," Vegeta said. "What makes you think you're going to do any better than him? You're an android, too! I bet your head rolls just as well as his does!"

"Fool! I am _far_ superior to the Android 19 model. Stamping you out of existence would be a trifle for a unit like me."

Vegeta decided to act on those words. "You're bluffing, friend, let's see what you've got!"

He knew this wasn't going to end well. He had to be absolutely sure he was ready to face Vegeta, and right now he just wasn't sure of himself.

In a flash, Dr. Gero phased away, and blasted down towards the vast valley of outcrops.

"Oh man! There he goes! He's running!" Krillin pointed out.

"Hey! Baldy!" Vegeta turned. "Throw me one of those beans."

"Huh?" he reached into his bag. "Hey. Wait a sec-"

"Listen you idiot! He's going to get away!"

"Krillin," Piccolo cut in. "Do it."

"Whatever you say," he replied. "Heh. I'll give him a small one," he quietly said to himself before tossing it to Vegeta. "Here, catch!"

Quickly injesting the bean, Vegeta focused for a moment before returning to his Super Saiyan form. Then, he scowled at Raiza. "You! Boy!"

"What?"

"Don't you _what_ me, you could have dropped in at any time during the fight and helped Kakarot. Instead you stood by and followed his little rules, you probably could have beaten these androids by yourself had you actually put your back into it. Honestly, what kind of saiyan was your father trying to raise?" he grunted, noting how Raditz was still not with them. "Where is he? Still not here?"

"I don't know where-" he glanced up, noting the large power level heading straight for them. "Hey wait, that's him!"

Within moments, Raditz was back on the ground, standing on one side of the massive crater Vegeta created alone with Vegeta to his right and the rest of the others to his left.

"Fight over already?" he smirked, before glancing at Vegeta. "What the!- Vegeta!"

"Yes, I figured you would react that way after seeing a real Super Saiyan. I was a bit surprised your boy didn't have the back to step in and help your brother when he was being pummeled to a pulp by one of the androids."

"What?" he glanced over to his son, now a shifty guilty face on him. "Son? Is that true, you did nothing?"

"I tried to help! But... one of the androids stopped me."

"Sounds like he inherited another pile of excuses, just like his father," Vegeta smirked.

Raditz growled back at the prince, turning his glare to him. "You! You have no RIGHT to tell _me_ how to raise my boy, not after you had the tail of your own son removed! What kind of animal are you to allow such a thing? Have you, the _prince_, forgotten who we are?"

"As much as I would love to indulge you, I have an android to wipe off the map. It was nice of you to show back up, Raditz, but you're not needed, just like always! Hahahah!"

In a surge of power, Vegeta rocketed in the direction the android ran off, leaving the rest of the fighters wondering what had happened.

"Raiza!" Raditz called. "We're going after him. Let's go!"

"Y-Yeah. Coming, Dad," he glanced over to the other fighters. "It couldn't hurt if you guys came. Never know."

As Raiza and Raditz followed Vegeta, the others quickly came to the decision to follow them. If nothing else, there was strength in numbers, and it was always a possibility they could need their help.

**X X X**

Frustrated by the amount of time it took him to estimate where he thought the android might have been, Vegeta stepped down onto a straight plateau, glancing down at the mountainous region, wondering where his target could have gone.

"Agh... ugh!" his head shot around and around, hoping to see something, but he couldn't.

"Coward!" he shouted, his voice echoing throughout the region. "Come out! Show yourself! How long do you plan to play hide and seek? If you androids experience fear, you must feel shame, too! So stop running away and FIGHT!"

Merely a couple dozen feet away, Dr. Gero hugged the back of a large rock as he listened in on Vegeta's rambling.

"This is ridiculous! An android that's scared to die! What a low-rate pile of junk! No guts at all, just circuits and wires!"

Vegeta was starting to lose his patience. Something the doctor had anticipated on and was simply waited for the right moments for him to snap and do something that would ensure his escape, or better yet, a chance to steal his energy. The energy reserve he had taken from Raiza had given him a significant boost in power, but even then, he knew he wasn't strong enough to fight Vegeta and win.

"Fool! I'm not going to stand here all day and night. If you won't come out, I'll blast you out!"

With that, Vegeta flew high up enough to oversee a vast majority of the valley below him. "This is your last chance. Come out, or else!"

Nothing.

"Fine then! Have it your way, you old rust bucket!"

Immediately he raised his hand as a Big Bang Attack formed, and he lobbed it straight to the ground below, unaware of not only the other fighters being down and just now noticing the incoming attack, but also not noticing Dr. Gero quickly hurtling himself out of hiding.

Finally running to directly underneath the blast, he held out his hands in eager anticipation as the blast struck, quickly draining itself into the doctor's hands, fast, and faster, until the flashing light of the attack was done, and Dr. Gero's smile was all that remained.

"Thanks for the charge, you fool!"

"Ugh!" Vegeta grunted, now seeing his target in sight. Do or die now, he rushed down as fast as he could fly. Just before he could bring his first fist down, the android vanished, phasing away as he quickly ran, skipping from rock to larger rock in an awkward maneuvering procedure. Vegeta followed, until after several skips later he disappeared again.

"I just _had_ to go and give him _all_ of that energy," he grunted to himself. "Darn, how could I? A mistake like that is inexcusable!"

High above, a confident Dr. Gero hung upside down with a smile on his face.

"His frustration is apparent. He is no longer the cool, confident fighter he was before. Heh! Perhaps the great Vegeta can be beaten after all!"

He flipped up and knelt at the top of the rock he was perched underneath, glancing down to make sure Vegeta was not noticing his presence.

_The risk of fighting him in my present condition is still too great. I must recharge to maximum power in order to beat him. I will need to wait for another opportunity to steal more energy, but Vegeta will not make the same mistake twice...There must be a way to acquire more energy, but how?_

Something caught his eye, someone hunched over. A child, as he figured when he finally focused, he figured out what child it actually was.

_Ahh, yes, it is the boy. So, he followed us after all..._

His scanners bleeped again, and he glanced back down to see Tien, also searching on the ground floor.

_Another one I see._

His scanners went off again, taking his vision to the left to see Piccolo floating above the rocks, glancing around.

_Piccolo, as well! Hm hm hm..._

Another reading, taking him to the bottom right. Had they all followed him? Looking closely, down at the ground level also, Krillin was busy searching away for someone who was simply, preying on them the entire time.

_Ahh. So, they are all here!_

"Heh. It seems I have just solved my energy problem," he declared to himself. "Yes, I will steal the energy from these pathetic fools one by one, then, Vegeta is mine."

Far off from where Dr. Gero was hiding, two pure-blooded saiyans floated not too far away, their energy suppressed immensely as to not be picked up.

"Dad-"

"Shh!" Raditz clamped his son's mouth. "It's a perfect vantage point. He sees everyone that way."

"But," he got loose of his father's grip, making sure to keep his voice down. "But what does that mean for them? Are we just letting them get baited out?"

"We cannot fight them because you said they cannot be sensed, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then we have to let him make himself known. As soon as we see, we'll step in before anything bad happens."

He wasn't sure why he made such a big deal out of this. It was like his father to make choices like that, even on diplomatic missions for Frieza when he and his father watched royal families be butchered before their very eyes. Good people, who caused no harm. This was nothing, as they were planning on stopping the android before he could sap the very life from them.

As for Raiza, this was personal.

**End Chapter 12**

**Hey guys, hope you liked this chapter. So since Christmas is in, like, 2 days, I'm gonna try and squeeze another chapter out before the big day rolls around. Expect a new chapter PROBABLY within the next 24 hours. Anyway, review away. See you in a bit! -PD**


	13. Chapter 13

Dr. Gero studied the power levels of all four fighters searching nearby for him. From weakest to strongest: Gohan, Krillin, Tien, then Piccolo.

_Yes, of course!_ he thought. _Piccolo is obviously the strongest of the four. I'll gather all of my energy from him, and then move onto the next. Once I have all four of them drained, Vegeta shall no longer pose a threat._

"Everyone else knows how to sense the other's energy, right?" Raditz asked.

"Yeah."

"Then they'll notice the second he starts draining somebody. If that's the case, going from lowest up is pointless. However..." he glanced down to Piccolo.

"He'll probably go for Piccolo."

"Yes, I agree. Next to us, the green man is certainly the strongest. It'll be his only option."

"Hey, Dad?"

"What is it?"

"Why do you keep calling him green man? You know what his name is..."

Raditz shrugged, unsure of what he wanted his son to say.

"It's just that," Raiza scratched his head. "It sounds kind of... you know... racist."

"What?" he snapped. "I am no racist!"

"Dad, the android!"

His eyes set down to Piccolo, the android clearly approaching him from behind. It was clear as day; people really needed to start relying on their eyes again in Raditz's thoughts.

"Green man!" Raditz yelled, firing a ki blast down towards him. "Raiza, go!"

"Yeah!"

Piccolo glanced up at the ki blast fast approaching him, narrowly dodging it as it destroyed a large formation of rocks below him.

"What's the big idea, you idiot?" Piccolo yelled.

"I'm not trying to hit you, gah, turn around!"

Before Piccolo could completely register what was happening, it was too late. The cold clammy feel of the android's hand slipped across his mouth, another across his chest. He was trapped, and instantly feeling the effects of the draining process.

"Ah, Raditz. My data indicated you had perished years ago. Well, this is certainly the age of surprises, isn't it?" Dr. Gero snickered as he continued to suck Piccolo's energy from him.

Raditz lowered himself till they were on an even level. Then, he did something neither of them were expecting as he raised his hand in the direction of the two with an open palm of energy quickly charging.

"I don't care about the green man, not really," Raditz arrogantly smirked. "All I care about are the machines that tried to kill my brother. One was destroyed before I got here, so you'll have to do. One blast can easily punch through the lot of you."

"Fool, you would so easily sacrifice your own teammate?" Dr. Gero nervously questioned. He wasn't even halfway done draining Piccolo, and he knew he couldn't face Raditz after scanning his power level.

"He is not my teammate, I'm afraid," chuckling, his blast grew in size. He was really going to do it. "I'd let go right now, unless you want to die, too."

_What?_ Piccolo nervously though to himself. _Hey. Raditz, it's Piccolo. Mind telling me what the hell you're doing?_

Raditz, picking up his thought but unsure of how to respond, simply sighed. "I'm afraid he's done waiting."

"What?" Dr. Gero questioned. "Who is he?"

"That would be me."

Before the android could respond, a painful kick snapped into his face as he let Piccolo go, the android crashing into a lower leveled plateau.

Piccolo turned, exhausted, but still moving to see Raiza behind him.

"You alright?"

"Been better," the namek replied before turning to Raditz. "So how much of that was an act, huh?"

"Heh. I'm a very convincing person. I think you know that already. The plan was to get that android distracted. I did that, so you're welcome."

"Tch," Piccolo spat back before the android finally got to his feet, his hat long since fallen off from the kick earlier.

Moments later, the others showed up, Vegeta coming in last, behind the android as his tension flared. He went from being completely hidden to all eyes on him.

"Well then," Vegeta started. "Shall we pick up where we left off last? As I recall, we were about to fight before you took off like that."

"Hey. Vegeta," Raiza said as he glanced down at the android. "I owe this guy. You weren't here for it, but he got the jump on me back in the city. It's a little personal."

"By all means," the prince replied. "I don't care, really. I don't care if you win, I don't even care if he kills you. But I _do_ care if he manages to steal your energy _again_. That would cause a problem for us all, understand?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I understand," his face hardened as he readied himself for round two.

"If you truly believe that is how you wish to die," Gero said. "I will grant you this request. Fighting you again shall be a simple task after seeing your moves myself already."

"I'm afraid I've got some bad news, buster," Raiza smirked. "You had an advantage on me. One, you had that balloon for backup. And two,"

He gripped his fists as tight as they could go, the loose gravel below him started to raise, slowly but surely as the waves on the right side of his head began to move about, finding themselves towards the top of his head.

"And... two..." he grunted. "I was holding back. But I'm not going to let that happen again!"

His power swelled further as his hair finally reached a spiky formation. The small bits of rocks and gravel danced around him, revolving around him like the sun. His eyes blinked, opening back up to reveal the black had turned to green. As the wind pushed his hair forward, the sun shimmered off of the beat in which his hair would change color. One second, black, two, gold, three, black, four, gold.

_Yes, that's it! You've done it!_ his father praised. _Push through, son!_

Vegeta just watched, his pride slowly sinking down as he realized his unique ability to transform was slowly becoming something more common. "What? Impossible!"

As for Dr. Gero, it was a nightmare once more. Had he taken the chance and finished Raiza off when he had drained him of his energy, this wouldn't be happening. His careless mistakes, this time, will not be fixed.

With one final push, he tapped into the very depths of his power, feeding off of the loss of his all he had known, promising that it would never happen again.

And when he shouted, everyone knew, as a pure shimmer of light brightened the day even further, causing everyone around to shut or cover their eyes at what was happening.

The rocks shot like bullets in every direction, chipping and irritating the android's skin as they hit him. When he glanced back, at the end of the rock and light storm, his eyes shot open at what he was looking at.

Another Super Saiyan.

This one, however, was not calm or confident like Vegeta and Goku were. This one had a stone cold look on his face, and in his stance. Battle, not performance. Power, not technique, that was in his body language as the gold aura around him continued to surprise everyone who was looking at him.

"What the!" Krillin shouted. "No way! Another one? Where did all these Super Saiyans start popping out from?"

"That's incredible," Tien added on. "That's such an insane amount of power; he's even stronger than Vegeta!"

Raditz floated back away to give the space his son needed. He knew things were about to get messy as Piccolo followed him as well. "That's my boy," he proudly stated.

"Indeed, that is quite a jump in power," Dr. Gero stated. "But it is still no match for me. I'm afraid this show of power will be for nothing once I have deprived you of all of your energy."

"Are you sure?" the new super asked before phasing away.

Before anyone could see what was happening, Raiza reappeared right behind the android. Instantly, the doctor felt a stinging backhand to his left cheek as his body was rocketed in that direction, crashing through standing levels of rock several times over.

"I guess he wasn't," he said, his voice in a high level of stern calmness, or exhaustion. No one could tell.

Dr. Gero struggled to pull himself out of the rubble, still in shock that one simple attack such as that sent him so far away, and with such force; his face felt frozen from all the pain he had received.

"How is this possible?" he snarled. "Raiza is _not _this powerful. He is an A-class fighter, not an S like Goku! This doesn't make any sense, and neither does Raditz showing up. So many things... they aren't adding up."

Before he could say any more, he fell back into the wall crater when Raiza phased in front of him.

"Y-You!"

"Give up. Or I'll kill you."

"What?" he gasped, then turning into anger, he barked back. "Fool! You have no idea what you are up against! Do you not realize how dire your situation is if you continue down this track?"

"How pitiful. You're losing, and you say I am the one without hope."

"Ugh! You insolent little worm! I'll crush you!"

Dr. Gero quickly swung a chop down at Raiza's neck. It connected, only for the Super Saiyan to not even flinch.

"What?" he gasped. "How?"

"Because... you're nothing."

Before the android could even register what was said, Raiza was gone, and a hard kick planted inside his back as he was blasted back to where the others were still hanging around.

Dr. Gero crashed into the ground, barely picking himself up as the case for his brain shows signs of internal cracks. If he kept this up, he would die from neural failure.

_I have to take some of his energy! Even if I get a few seconds, I can stand a better chance than now. But that's just it! I shouldn't be having this much trouble with an above-average fighter, I'm an elite unit!_

"Tell me," the android growled as Raiza slowly floated back to the others. "You were not this powerful when I examined you. How did you acquire such power? How did all of you?"

"You would have had an advantage if we weren't warned about you," Piccolo said. "You see, we've known about you for three years, and let's just say we got all our ducks in a row."

"Ducks?" the doctor wondered. "That makes no sense!"

"It doesn't matter," Raiza coldly stated. Everyone around him, even his father was surprised at how different he acted while in this form. Only Vegeta and Raditz had ever seen him act like this, and it was while he was serving Frieza still. Going into this form must have kicked in his old cold-hearted self. "You're dead."

"You do not speak down to me! You are not above me, boy, _I_, am above you! In every way possible!"

The doctor flung himself up towards the Super Saiyan, both palms wide open. Raiza did nothing as the doctor grasped his neck, victory in his tone as he laughed.

"Yes! I can feel the energy from you entering my system as we speak. Ohhh the power! Such... power!"

"No!" Raditz yelled before taking off towards him. "Get off of him!"

As the doctor continued his hysterical fit, his eyes finally met with Raiza, cold and uncaring, even in this situation.

"What? What's with you?"

"You want power. Right?"

"Yes, and I'm taking everything I want from you. Don't fear, this will all be over soon!"

Dr. Gero was surprised that Raiza began to power up even further, his aura even surrounding the android as he felt bombs of power entering his system. Yes, he could feel it, he was almost as strong as Vegeta now.

But then, something happened. In his forearm, a sharp pain entered in both arms. He ignored it and continued to drain the energy, but nothing was happening, the swelling in his arms began to show as his arms started to expand.

"W-What? What are you doing to me?" the panicked.

"You wanted my power. You wanted power to defeat my uncle, and to defeat Vegeta. You want power to destroy everything, so I'm giving it to you. NOW TAKE IT!"

With his shout, more power left his system and traveled into the android's arms. This was too much. The power was too great, the dam finally broke.

Finally, his arms gave way. A burst of circuitry and wires was seen by all the fighters as Dr. Gero's hands exploded off of his own wrists before their very eyes.

With the energy not receding into the doctor's system, it ventured back into Raiza's body, leaving the android in absolute shock and fear. Too much energy? He didn't think such a thing was possible.

"You... you monster. Look what you did to me?" he wailed.

"Alright!" Gohan cheered. "His hands are gone, he can't absorb anyone's energy anymore!"

"What..." Vegeta was speechless. Raditz's son, he was unthinkably powerful. "He just... overloaded it? He had that much power to dish out. Unbelievable!"

_No. No this can't be! I don't stand a chance now, I must retreat. Yes, I have to return back to base and activate 17 and 18. But I need to find a way out of here, this one is too fast for me._

Before he could develop his plan further, someone else showed up. A young man with short lavender hair and a blue jacket, a sword mounted right on the back of it.

"Trunks is back," Piccolo stated.

"!" Vegeta clicked. _He has the same name as my son?... Wait a second, a Super Saiyan from the future? Of course! He's my son... unbelievable!_

"Darn it, I knew it!" Trunks cringed. "This one isn't the right one either!"

"What do you mean?" Vegeta asked. "Isn't this the android you warned us about?"

"No, this one doesn't look anything like the ones I told you about," he replied.

Before any other actions could be taken, something else came into view. This peaked the doctor's interest as the small cruiser ship came into view.

"Hey look," Krillin said. "It's Bulma and Yajirobe."

Trunks panicked as he heard that, looking to the ship. "No! Don't come down here!"

"FOOLS!" Dr. Gero shouted. "I will activate Android 17 and 18, and once I do, none of you shall stand a chance!"

Before anything else could be said, the doctor's eyes filled with light as he produced a powerful wave of energy with his reserve energy, the eye beam blowing everyone away, even the ship as it tumbled away in the air.

**X X X**

When the smoke settled, Vegeta was still flying around, looking for the android while the others landed with Bulma to make sure her and the baby were safe.

As for Raiza, he took two steps after landing before falling to his knees, wheezing from exhaustion.

"What is it, what's wrong?" Raditz knelt down next to him.

"I'm just," his hair slipped down, and he returned to his normal state. "I can't hold it for very long. My head was killing me. I'm still not used to it."

"It's okay, son. You did good. You had him running."

"But he isn't dead. He got away," he grunted.

"Hey, wait a second," Trunks looked at them. "Who are you guys, anyway?"

"I'm Raditz. Kakarot's brother, this is my son Raiza."

"It's a long story, Trunks," Piccolo cut in. "Raiza came to kill Goku while we were training. As you can see, we managed to stop that from happening, and ended up bringing his father back to help us fight."

"And he's a Super Saiyan? That's incredible."

"Not... not really," Raiza heavily breathed. "Heh. I can't do it for very long. Gotta make it count whenever I do it."

"What? Are you sure Bulma?" Krillin said loudly.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that android you guys are talking about was Dr. Gero. He looks so much different now, but I guess turning yourself into an android will do that, huh..."

"Trunks, you said these androids didn't look like the ones you fought. It's possible that Dr. Gero is on the way to activate those androids right now. It would help if you told us what they looked like this time; we don't want to make the same mistake again."

"Right," he nodded. "The two androids you two fought may have been powerful, but I assure you the next two are far stronger, though they will not appear as fierce as the ones you fought today. Android 18 is designed to look like a beautiful young girl, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Android 17 has long black hair with a red scarf around his neck."

His ears picked up, listening in on what Trunks was saying. That description gave him a suspicion, but was he just jumping to conclusions? Raiza stood up, glancing at Krillin with his hand out. "Hey."

"Huh?"

"Can I get a bean off you? I'm really worn out from the transformation," he sluggishly said.

"Oh, uh, yeah," he said as he tossed him a bean.

The second it went into his stomach he could feel his energy completely return, plus extra. The benefits of being a saiyan with severe injury or fatigue was great, for him at least.

"Hey, Trunks," Raiza asked, getting the future saiyan to turn around. "You said the androids, one was a boy and the other a girl, right?"

"Yeah."

"Do they have names? Anything specific about them?"

"No, no names. Just a pair of piercing blue eyes that still haunt me to this day, and probably will until the day I die," he sternly replied. _What's he getting at? Did he see them already? I don't think I could have warped history this much..._

_Damn it!_ he thought. _What was something unique about them!... Wait a second, Andrew always had a, yeah that's right!_

"One more thing. Does the guy, 18?"

"17."

"Yeah. Does 17 have a... gun? Like a pistol?"

Trunks' eyes narrowed at the saiyan. "How do you know that?"

It was true! All this time, the orphanage was cleaned out, they were nowhere to be seen. It had to be it, his gut just wretched and pulled. They didn't run away, or move, something happened to them... _that_, happened to them. He couldn't even put words to it.

"I know... knew... them," he sighed, silence quickly blanketing the group. "When I first got here, like Piccolo said, I ended up fighting my uncle. When I lost, he took me back home to recover. I got up a few days later, and I just left. I had to get away. While I was walking around, I was in West City, and I met a couple of kids. Just like you described, but they weren't bad people!" he grunted. "They were orphans, helping other orphans! They had a hideaway with dozens of kids, stealing from corrupt higher-ups and putting food in their mouths, sometimes forgetting about themselves."

Trunks' glare remained. Maybe him interfering with the past caused a lot. 17 and 18? Good? Fat chance to him.

"Look I... Ah, man," he palmed his forehead. "Listen I just, one day I just sort of left them. I said I might come back to see how they were doing, but that was a whole year later before that happened. When I came back, the entire place was cleared out, gone, nothing!"

"Now that you mention it, Raiza," Bulma cut in. "I was reading about a serious scandal going on with one of the bigger electronics corporations that was in competition with my father's. Tetcon Red, that's what it was called, I think. They had a lot of investigations happen all of a sudden because some workers started disappearing..."

"You sure they were workers? Not just people he kidnapped?" Raiza wondered.

She shrugged. "I don't know, I only read a little bit of it. But it's funny you mention it, because kidnapping was a real problem in West City for a couple of months while Vegeta was training. I had to beg the guy to come to bed with me cause I was so scared someone was going to break into _our_ home."

"That doesn't matter!" Trunks snapped. "Whatever they did, whoever they were, it doesn't matter know, they're gone! Their memories, experiences, they won't even remember their own name. They're weapons, killers who have destroyed my world," he pointed to Raiza. "I even remember what happened to you in my time."

"Huh? I was there?"

"Not for long. You showed up looking for Goku, like Piccolo said. I was barely waking up from a battle with the androids myself, but I felt a big power level dropping in. You put up a fight, but it didn't matter, you were cut down and butchered within minutes. Even as a Super Saiyan, they were far too strong."

"Can't you see that things are different now?" he grunted. "I'm not dead, neither is Kakarot, we're all alive and stronger now! If by chance those two _are_ the same people I was talking about, we might be able to stop them before they get out of control!"

In a quick flash, Raiza shot up to the sky, glancing towards the north.

"I don't like waiting, it just isn't in me. Blame my parents," and with that, he blasted off towards where it was rumored Dr. Gero's base was.

"Hey!" Vegeta shouted as Raiza blasted past him. "Get back here, boy! If anyone is destroying those androids it's me!"

Back on the ground, Piccolo tried to ease Trunks as he was about ready to pop.

"You know, now that Vegeta and Raiza are Super Saiyans, there's a good chance they're both stronger than Goku. We may have a chance against these androids if we were able to get them one on one."

"No... that won't work. Because in my time, they already killed Raiza and Vegeta! We have to destroy them before they're activated, or I'm telling you, we're all in for it!"

Not waiting a second longer, Trunks shot up into the sky, following pursuit of the two massive power levels ahead of him.

"You didn't know Raiza knew about the androids?" Piccolo asked Raditz.

He shook his head. "He never mentioned it to me. I was still dead at the time."

"Right," he replied. "Alright you guys, we don't have a lot of time. If Dr. Gero's base is nearby in the mountains of North City, like Bulma said, we have to get there before he does. Because unlike him, we don't know exactly where it is, and we need that extra time to find it."

"Right," they said in unison.

"Gohan, I want you to take Bulma back. Her ship got pretty banged up, so she'll need to get home. We can handle the androids without you," the namek continued to instruct.

"Right... okay," he sighed.

"Let's go!"

**X X X**

It had been almost an hour after Raiza and Vegeta began searching. Nothing so far, and he was beginning to think maybe he had gone too far.

"Hey!" Vegeta yelled. "You're sure this is the right area?"

"Yeah, I remember Bulma saying it was in this area."

"Agh. What a waste. I could just blast this entire place and find the lab that way."

Raiza snarled at that statement. _Like hell you are._

Literally underneath them, several feet below, a carefully moving and slowly creeping Dr. Gero made his way to his lab.

_How did they catch up so quickly? And so close to the lab!... Wait a minute,_ he took a moment to study the two saiyans, their posture, and how they were searching. They were merely a few yards away from the lab, but they were completely clueless as to where it was. _Ah, yes. One of the many benefits of having a laboratory this side of the mountains. Even the great Dr. Brief does not know the exact location of my lab. I just need to make sure they don't see me and I'll..._

Unaware of how high up he was, and how close his foot was to a small pile of rocks, he nearly tripped, but sent every rock clacking down below.

"Huh?" Raiza glanced down to the sound.

_Oh no!_

"Hey!" he called. "Vegeta!"

"Damn it, do or die now!" the doctor said as he rushed across the edge of the rock, turning right to the entrance of his lab. He reached up to punch in the correct key for entry, only to yell in frustration at the realization that Raiza literally blew his hands off.

With a quick click of his tongue, four clicks later, the door opened and he quickly rushed inside.

"Emergency lockdown!" he shouted as he stepped over the door that was opening, the door stopping its movement and retracting back upwards to close.

"Got you!" Raiza dropped down, rushing down towards the hall, only to meet with Dr. Gero's cynical laughter as the door shut tightly just before he could get through.

"Son of a!" he grunted, punching into the door, making only a slight ding to it. Vegeta dropped down, equally disappointed.

"Ugh, old man, you are really testing my patience!" the prince gritted.

A few moments later, Trunks dropped down, then Raditz, then Piccolo and the others.

"Is this it?" Raditz asked.

Raiza nodded. "Yeah. We just missed him. We can't get through, this place is sealed up like I've never seen before, even when we were in PTO."

The quick planning they were trying to come together wasn't going anywhere as planned. Vegeta simply suggested they blow the place up, but the others reminded him how a blast of that much power could not only fail, but backfire on them as well.

"Well we can't just stand here! How much sense does it make if we did all this training to just play knock-knock and wait for the door to open?" Raditz fumed.

"Ah, ah, ah, it's all fine now," a voice came through the intercom. "I must say, you have all proven to be quite difficult. Indeed, I would not have lasted for a very long time had I not escaped when I did. But it is all over now, you needn't worry any longer."

With that, the attention of the Z-Fighters was caught, the the pulling of steel soon commenced after. Yet to their surprise, Dr. Gero simply stood there, by himself.

"Hey, what's the big idea, you old nut job?" Vegeta scowled.

"Ah yes, you are quite eager to see 17 and 18. Very remarkable creations, some of my finest work, for half organics."

_What?_ Raiza thought.

With a red beep of his eye, two full bodied pods began to open from the bottom, going up.

"No..." Trunks growled. "I'm too late!"

The others kept silent as a pair of feet met with the edge of the large capsule. A young girl stepped out, flipping her hair as she stepped down from her cramped home. A second later, another one, a young man stepped out, his black hair covering his face until they met with the Z-Fighters in front of the lab. Dr. Gero only smiled as his latest works were at last back up to speed.

"Good morning, Dr. Gero," 17 smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"We have guests?" 18 asked.

The mirror to his reality cracked upon witnessing what he saw. It couldn't be. Nothing about them as different, except in certain places of their clothes they were branded with the symbol he had grown to quickly hate.

_No... not them._

**End Chapter 13**

**Yeah so this did take a weeee bit longer than I thought. Christmas plans, can you blame me? Please don't blame me. =(**

**Anyway, with that, there is your next chapter. I'd like to wish everyone a safe and blessed Christmas. God bless. But if that isn't your thing (I don't want to offend anyone who isn't in the same boat as me.), Happy Holidays, Merry Xmas, whatever! Hope you are enjoying the holiday season, and continue to enjoy this story as I am with writing it. I'll get started on the next chapter soon but... well... it's Christmas. Leave me presents! (As in, reviews. Yeah, bet you didn't think of that, did you? =P) Later! -PD**


	14. Chapter 14

"So, these are the big _bad_ androids," Vegeta smirked with his arms crossed.

"Thaaat's them..." Trunks sighed.

"Run into a few problems, Dr. Gero?" 17 wondered as he noticed his lack of hands.

"Yes, you could say that. Some of Goku's friends proved quite a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. 19 was easily defeated by Vegeta, and the one named Raiza-"

_Raiza?_ 18 thought. _That name sounds familiar. It must be in my files on him but... hm, interesting._

"-is the one responsible for my hands," he finished. "Listen you two, I activated you two against my better judgement. In the past you have disobeyed me, and I blame myself for it due to your programming. However, we have a common foe this time around, and I don't think I have to give an order for you two to defeat these people."

"Right. Orders," 17 replied.

"Hm, what's this?" 18 asked as she stepped back towards another container, the large numbers "16" printed on them.

"Step away from there!" Dr. Gero shouted. "You can't open that yet, I'm not yet finished with it!"

"What's the big deal? He's not much in the looks department," she observed.

17 took a step forward and examined his power level, smirking at the reading.

"According to my scanners I'm much stronger than this one. What's so special about him, anyway?"

"Ugh. Nothing you two need to concern yourselves with. If you haven't noticed, we have a bit of a situation right now, so go and take care of it and finish off Goku!"

17 and 18 gave each other quick exchanges before glancing back at their creator. "No thanks," the male twin smirked. "We'll take care of it when we're ready."

"What! Why... you!"

"Relax," 18 calmly said, stepping to the other side of the container with her fingers dancing along the side. "We can get our new friend to take care of Goku's friends for us. That way we can just worry about finding Goku. There's thinking with your head."

_Damn it! I've got to get them under control! But I can't deactivate them, I don't have any god damn hands!_

"16, he's just a prototype, if you activate him he'll malfunction, I know he will!"

"Don't worry," 17 said. "We'll find out real quick if he is or isn't, and he'll go right back in."

"No! I'm telling you, step away from him NOWWWW-"

In that moment, an eruption of pain and agony split throughout the doctor's body as 17's hand pushed through the other side of Dr. Gero's stomach. The young man grappled his shoulders, pressing his back to his chest as he whispered into his ear.

"I'm tired of eating your crap, _old man_. I think you've forgotten something. When you created us, you broke the limits of our original capabilities by adding in the emotional stasis. Nothing makes a person stronger than hate, and do you know what causes me so... much... hate?"

Dr. Gero only grunted, shocked at the amount of pain he was in as the Z-Fighters only looked on in horror.

"It's you, you old bastard. I'm not going back into that capsule, I'm going to do what I said I was going to do when you put me under."

Finally retracting his hand from the innards of the doctor, his owner scowled at him from behind.

"You... I... gave you... life... and I can take it away!"

He tossed his handless arm forward, easily sidestepped by 17. In that quick moment, a rare flash of anger crossed the calm android's face as a swift kick severed the head of the doctor, knocking it clean off his shoulders and rolling to the entrance of the laboratory.

Dr. Gero's head rolled to the edge of the door, frightening Krillin as it began to speak right after landing.

"That's... it... now I'm mad!" said the head.

A second later, 17 was in the air, slamming his foot down as it crushed the very last of life within Dr. Gero's psychotically genius mind, silencing him forever.

He smiled at Krillin, obviously terrified of him.

"Hey, don't be scared. Look, I just killed one of the bad guys. Come on, can't you give me a chance?" he sarcastically smirked.

"Is this what happened?" Raiza wondered out loud.

"You say something, pal?" 17 glanced over.

"Yeah, I said something!" Raiza snapped back. "What the hell happened to you two? Is this what happened? You guys just, I don't know, get kidnapped or something and ended up here?"

17 raised an eyebrow. _What's with this guy? I've never even met him before and he's acting like I'm a long lost friend. Weirdo._

"God damn it, Andrew, why can't you remember anything?"

"Andrew?" the android wondered. "Listen, man, if you lost a friend you have my condolences, but I'm not your guy. Now if you'll excuse me, my sister and I have some business to attend to. 18. Open the capsule."

"If they activate that android it will be the end of all of us! Nooooo!"

In a flash, Trunks not only transformed, his energy skyrocketed and his hands came together as it blasted straight towards the android pair standing by the container.

The narrow window of time was used as the Z-Fighters quickly cleared away before the cave collapsed around them. When it was over, a large cloud of smoke covered the remains of the laboratory, slowly blowing away with the wind.

"Hey, Trunks! How about a little warning next time?" Krillin pleaded.

"Why'd you go and do that? You just showed them how weak you are!" Vegeta scowled.

"What?"

Seconds later, the smoke finally cleared away to show 17 standing without a scratch on him, 18 all the same, with the capsule lifted above her with one hand like a pizza.

"There's no way anyone could have survived that, that was my most intense blast!"

"Huh," 17 started. "Oh well. Saves us the trouble of blowing this place up ourselves."

"I guess," 18 replied. "What should we do about our friend?"

"Go ahead and let him out."

She nodded as she tossed the container down in front of her. She stepped over and pressed the button to open, and watched as the door opened.

Out of it, a large man stepped out, his red mohawk flowing in the wind as he glanced around at his surroundings.

"Uh- guys, he's- uh, big! He's very big!" Krillin said. "And he's ugly, too!"

Trunks growled at his failed attempt to take them out. Even the androids in his time would have been at least a little shaken up by this attack. But these ones didn't even have tears on their clothes. _I didn't know Dr. Gero made another android? How could I have missed one?_

"Well good morning," 17 said. "It must feel good to get out of that coffin. How long have you been cooped up in that container for, anyway?"

16 said nothing.

"Come on, speak," 17 said again. "Did Dr. Gero not give you a voice box? He tried to tell us it was dangerous to activate you."

"Why would the doctor say such a thing?" 18 added on. "Do you know?"

Once again, 16 remained silent as he slowly and carefully studied his surroundings.

"Do you have something to say?" she asked.

"Hello? Anybody home in there?" 17 asked. "The strong-silent type, huh?" he sighed. "Come on, let's go."

"Where to?" his sister asked.

"To complete our mission. Are you with me, 18?" he turned his glance back to 16. "16, Dr. Gero programmed you with a mission to destroy Goku, isn't that right?"

He tilted his head to the side, facing his temporary partner. "That's right."

"I'll be. So the big guy can speak, after all," he smirked.

"Dr. Gero must have only programmed him to respond to things that pertain to his main objective."

"Huh. I didn't think the doctor was that smart. Okay, let's see if you can carry out your objective: Find Goku and destroy him," slowly, his body lifted off the ground, followed by 18's, then 16 followed soon after as they rose to the air and flew away, never even acknowledging the fighters that had just tried to kill them.

"Hey!" Krillin pointed. "They're leaving!"

"Ugh!" Vegeta growled. His pride was on the line, and those androids simply ignored him, like he was nothing important.

"Good riddance!" Krillin added on. "We're safe!"

"But, where do you think they're going?" Tien asked. "Should we follow them?"

Piccolo then realized where they were heading. "If they were going that way they wouldn't be going to South City! That's the other way!"

"I've got it!" Krillin spoke up, again. "They've gone after Goku! Yeah, that was Dr. Gero's goal to get back at Goku for destroying his Red Ribbon Army!"

"Do you really think after they just killed their own master they would still follow his orders?" Raditz asked.

"Ugh... ugh!" Vegeta finally had it. "I don't care where they went! I'll track them down myself! They're cowards!... They left because they were afraid of me... and they should be!"

Within seconds, Vegeta had transformed back into a Super Saiyan, catching everyone's attention again. He was really going to go back after them? Vegeta's judgement was definitely called into question by the others at this point.

Trunks desperately rushed in front of him in an attempt to stop his father. "No, stop! Stay here! Don't go after them!"

"Heh. You expect ME to wait for Kakarot?"

"Kakarot?... Oh, you mean Goku. That's right! We need him for this battle! We're only strong enough if we all stay together!"

"Heheheh," he laughed. "Sure! Let's wait for Kakarot! I mean wouldn't it be easier if we all just joined up with the androids instead?" he sneered. "He's history!"

Trunks had to swallow his short temper, clearly inherited from his father. Still, he stood strong.

"Now get out of my way before you get hurt! And let me finish them off, by myself, WITHOUT KAKAROT!"

"YOU CAN'T! IF YOU FACE THE ANDROIDS ALONE YOU WILL BE DESTROYED FOR SURE! DON'T YOU GET IT? THEY ALREADY KILLED YOU IN MY TIME! You must listen to me, stay here!"

The second the words left his mouth, a harsh blow to the stomach left him winded, grabbing his stomach in a wretched pain.

"Now stay out of my way!" Vegeta ordered as he blasted past him, chasing after his new targets.

"Vegeta!" Raditz shouted, but he was too far to be reached, even if he was, he wouldn't have stopped.

"Dad," Raiza said. "I'm gonna go after him."

"What? Why?"

"We all need to! It's like Trunks said, we're only strong enough if we stick together. If those guys start blowing stuff up and Kakarot is still sick, are we just gonna hide under the table until he gets better? Let's do something!"

"You've been acting weird since we got here, boy, spit it out. This isn't just about doing the right thing, now say it!" his father said.

The others glanced at Raiza. He was caught, and he knew it, but he didn't have time to explain. If Vegeta destroyed either of the two, he would never be able to forgive himself, or the prince.

"Forget you guys, then! I'll do it myself, I'm stronger than all of you anyway!"

"Raiza!"

Raditz called out to his son, but he was gone, heading just where the other four individuals had gone down, quickly vanishing from sight.

"Idiot son of mine! He's going to get himself killed!"

"Raditz is right," Piccolo added on. "We can't stop them from going, but we can at least be there to back them up. It might not be as hopeless as we think, but we have to hurry! Let's go!"

**X X X**

Birds were chirping. A mother blue-bird stopped at a branch, feeding a worm to her hatchlings as a pair of three flying guests descended on the highway nearby. The scene was quiet and relaxed, for the time being. 16 took notice of them the second he stepped down, admiring them from afar, not paying any attention to 18 speaking to her brother.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, don't blow a circuit I just wanted to see the scenery from down here," he replied.

"So we walk?" she asked.

"No, we drive. We're going to take the next automobile that passes by us. So how does that sound?"

She wasn't really buying it, especially since she knew her brother was going to be driving, and if there was one thing she knew, it's that he wasn't one for being slow and steady. Put that attitude behind the wheel of a vehicle and there was no telling how soon they would get into an accident.

"Hm. It sounds to me that you're being foolish. 17, why would we waste our time driving a car?"

"Because we've never done it before," he replied, glancing over to 16 who was still admiring the view. "We're planning on taking a little car ride, 16, do you want to _**go**_, _**too**_?"

"What? Did you just say Goku?"

17's eyebrows lifted. "... I'll take that as a yes."

"Seems Goku is the only thing he has on his mind," 18 added on.

_Yeah... that's strange,_ 17 thought. _It seems Dr. Gero didn't create him with the human personality traits that 18 and I have. I'll be curious to see what other flaws he has in his design..._

"Hey, 17," 18 said. "What was with that boy back there?"

"What boy?"

"He called you Andrew."

"Huh. No clue. I guess I kind of do look like an Andrew, but I've never met that person before. I guess it's true what they say, we have look alikes all over the world," he smirked.

"Maybe," she replied. _But still... he looks so familiar. Like I've seen his face in a crowd before, or something. I suppose it doesn't matter, but I know if I don't figure it out 17 will start to notice, and it'll only be a matter of time before he starts heckling me about it._

"So, there you are."

They turned to the side at the sight of Vegeta standing not too far from them. He was different now, though. His hair was spikier, golden, and his aura was completely shimmering. Some type of transformation, but they had never seen it before, ever.

"I didn't think you'd be this easy to find. Run out of gas?"

"There's something... different about him," he said to 18. "What happened?"

"I'm showing my true self. I'm the most powerful being on this planet... and you're not welcome here!"

18 crossed her arms. This guy was totally full of himself. "You're awfully brave for someone... all alone."

"Don't worry," his arrogantly smirked. "I came prepared. Heheh, I'm going to put you back in the crates you crawled out of!"

17 and 18 just looked at each other before giving a light chuckle to the situation. They knew Vegeta's personality was arrogant, but this was way over the top. It was hilarious to them.

"You're laughing," Vegeta twitched, he hated it when people laughed at him. It reminded him of Frieza. "Why is that? This is not a joke!"

Finally 17 turned his attention to him. "Tell me, are all of you saiyans so full of yourselves? Is Goku like you? Is this the way you try to hide your incompetence?"

Now the prince was getting angry. He was daring to talk down to him?

"We androids will always be superior to your kind."

"You take that back! You'll regret saying that, you're nothing but a machine made of tin! You're just a bunch of toys made by a crazy old man! And don't forget that tin toys can be broken!"

18 was finally fed up with it. "He talks too much."

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"16," she said. "Let's see what you can do. Destroy him."

"I refuse."

17 and 18 were surprised by that. He refused to fight?

"So, the big guy's not so dumb, huh?" Vegeta smirked. "Now who's it going to be?"

"He refuses? Who does he think he is?"

"Never mind him," 18 smiled as she began stepping towards Vegeta. "_I'll_ handle this," she tucked her hair behind her ear as she finally came to a stop. "Ready, little man?"

"So, it's ladies first, is it? That's fine with me. Now don't expect me to go easy on you. I fight to win."

18 said nothing as she held her hands to her sides in sort of a loose grip. She wasn't going to take the fight that seriously; she knew Vegeta wasn't that powerful according to her files on him. Still, they hadn't counted on the transformation he had just done, so she would still be cautious.

But before the fighting started, another person dropped down next to Vegeta. Another saiyan.

"What are you doing here, boy?" Vegeta barked. "Didn't your father teach you any manners? Get out of here, I can handle these three on my own!"

"I don't care about that!" he snapped back, jumping in front of him. "I can't let you fight them. Not those two, anyway."

"WHAT? Are you out of your MIND, Raiza?" the prince roared. "Either you move and let me finish these androids off, or I'll finish you off first, and Raditz is going to have one dust bucket of a son when this is all said and done!"

Growling, Raiza swallowed hard as he got in Vegeta's face, transforming himself as they met eye for eye. "Try it."

Vegeta's irritated face turned to an obnoxious smirk as he backed up with his arms crossed. "I get it."

"What?"

"How pathetic. You, one of the last pure-blooded saiyans alive, and you've taken some sort of sick liking to that girl. Is that it? Don't want me to crush your woman's head like a can of juice?"

Furiously trying to hold his embarrassment back, he gritted his teeth to the point of almost breaking them. "No, that's not it! I knew them, I'm telling you, they're not bad people!"

Before he could continue any further, a small and gentle hand grazed his shoulder, crawling up and across his cheek as 18 stepped past him. "That's very brave of you to try and protect me. But the fact of the matter is, you're a complete stranger to us, just like Vegeta," she winked before tapping his nose with her finger. "Do me a favor and stay there, okay, handsome?"

"Don't you worry about him," Vegeta smirked. "He's still just a boy. We tend to grab onto anything with a pair of legs when we're that age, but he'll stay out of this."

"Vege!-" before he could finish, another hand clamped onto his shoulder.

"Hey," 17 calmly said. "Don't worry about her, she'll be okay. Why don't you turn off that light show you've got going on, it'll make me feel a lot better knowing you're not going to jump in."

He grunted, but he complied, powering down.

"Thanks. It's kind of hard to find people who are true to their word now these days. Tell you what: You stay out of that fight, and I will too. I'll even stand here right next to you. How's that sound? You can even tell me about this Andrew fellow you say I look like. I may even help you find him."

"Damn it, you are him! That's what I'm trying to say!" he growled, glancing away from the fight Vegeta and the android were commencing. "Dr. Gero must have wiped that from your memory."

"I see... Oh well," he apathetically said, watching the fight. _Interesting, Vegeta is a lot stronger than our data suggested._

"You mean you're okay with not even knowing who you were? Your own name, or your family?"

"I don't really care. Ow! Did you see how he knocked 18 into that mountain? Huh... there they go, 18's probably gonna lead him into a trap."

"God damn it!"

**X X X**

Far off from the start of the battlefield, crossing the lines into the highway, Vegeta continued his pursuit of the female android, until she finally stopped on top of an eighteen-wheeler. They stared each other down, secretly, Vegeta needed the time to catch a small break from using that much energy just keeping up with her.

Inside the truck, two passengers rode towards their destination. The passenger heard the thumping from outside and turned his head to glance at the two warriors standing on opposite ends.

"What are you looking at, Cleetus?" said the burly driver.

"You ain't gon' believe this, Solis, but there's two people on top of the rig at this very moment!"

"Yeah right. I think you've been on the road too long, little buddy."

"What's wrong?" Vegeta taunted. "Batteries getting low?"

With no response for the next few moments, the saiyan prince rushed at 18, tossing punch after kick until finally, his foot landed into her stomach, sending her into a car driving behind them, crashing it into the wall as it exploded.

He chased after her as she got back to her feet, missing her with a punch as she launched away, another car crashing into the wall. She jumped onto the other intersection of traffic onto the roof of another car as it drove away, tempting him to follow.

"What the?" the driver said to himself. "What the heck was that?"

Vegeta growled as he took off from the ground, accidently exploding the car coming in behind him with his raw aura as he slammed his fist down onto the android, only to have it come crashing through the roof of the car she was standing on.

"Oh shit! A hand! And it's glowing!"

18 simply laughed at him as she flew away from him. She could do this all day, never mind the fact her energy would not run out; Vegeta was just such a fun person to mess with.

"That's the last time you get away from me!" he shouted as he bolted off after her, sending the car he was standing on into a fiery explosion.

**X X X**

Raiza and the two androids glanced up at the sound of air-cutting flight approaching them.

"Look, they're back," 17 said.

"Phew. Maybe after Vegeta's done we can settle this whole thing," Raiza thought out loud.

"Hmm," 17 remarked. "You sure seem to have a thing for wanting to protect us, or maybe it's just my sister you've taken a liking to."

"What? No, no, no, no, no that isn't it!" he waved his hands furiously. "You guys were friends of mine!... Sort of, enough to where I actually cared about if you guys got hurt or not. Look, man, I-"

"You know if you lose the tail, she'd probably go for you. Not sure how she feels about the whole beastia-"

"GOD DAMN IT, LISTEN TO ME!"

Not too far off, 18 and Vegeta touched down on opposite sides of the road.

"Did you enjoy the ride?" 18 chuckled as she tucked a chunk of locks behind her hair.

"Ugh... your warranty ran out with me a long time ago!" Vegeta growled. "So you're going to be recycled!"

18 said nothing, but rather smiled as she placed her hands on her hips, waiting for Vegeta to make the next move.

Taking the opportunity, he held an open palm out and pointed it straight at her. "Now... be good and be still!"

"That's a horrible way to win a girl over," she smirked. "Don't you have any other lines?"

"Ugh! Quiet, bot! I'm going to wipe that smirk off that pretty little face of yours!"

Not even noticing what was happening behind her, a large semi-truck pulled up behind the android. The door sporting the words 'SPECIAL' with an insignia bearing a very close resemblance to the Ginyu Force's mark.

"-honk, honk- You've laughed -honk- at me for the -honk honk- last time, android!-honk... honnnnnnnkkk-" the sounds of the horn not even disturbing the prince's remarks.

"What are you doing in the middle of the road?" the driver shouted. "Are you guys nuts? Move it! I got a truck load of paperclips I gotta get unloaded! So get out of the way!"

"Any last words before I blast you?" Vegeta asked.

"ExCUSE me! Big truck, paperclips? Come onnn!"

"Hmph," 18 smirked. "Take your best shot."

Not even caring about the truck driver behind her, Vegeta fired a blast towards her, which she quickly jumped away from, but the truck- driver included- could not, as it was blasted away.

17 simply watched in amusement while Raiza clenched his fists. Normally, he didn't care, back in the day, if innocents were killed. Hell, most of his assignments consisted of killing _every_ innocent. But something about Vegeta nonchalantly destroying that truck bugged him.

"Funny. You seem aggravated," 17 said to the saiyan. "Thinking about jumping in?"

"No. I told you I'd stay put if you did the same."

"Good. No offense, but it wouldn't be very even if we both jumped in. I could have defeated Vegeta easily by now, and not to rain on your parade, but you, too."

"Tch," he grunted. "Whatever. You weren't so cocky when you were your old self."

"You know, you keep bringing that up like I'm going to add to the conversation. Let's be real here, there is no conversation. As far as I'm concerned, you're just as diluted as Dr. Gero was, though I find no reason to hate you like I do him, so there is that."

"If you kill Kakarot... my uncle... what are you going to do then?"

"Oooh nice, did you see how much fire that blast caught?" he turned back to Raiza. "I'm sorry, that was rude. I'm sure by Kakarot you mean Goku. Well, once we kill him, I'm not too sure. I might just kill you if I feel like it."

"That was just _so_ poor!" 18 remarked as she landed behind Vegeta. "Your aim was off by ten degrees," she said with a conceited smile across her face. "What's the matter? Did you have something in your eye?"

"Grr..." Vegeta turned back to her. "You can be very quick when you want to be, _android_. But your speed won't save you from me for long!"

"Don't worry, Vegeta. I don't plan on running from you anymore."

"Huh," 17 observed. "Looks like she's gonna actually start trying. Gotta say, I'm impressed. She actually had to charge up to 100%."

"What? You mean she's just been messing with him?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he glanced down at Raiza's feet, he could tell he moved them slightly. He was getting uneasy. "Just so you know, I'm a lot stronger than her. Her 100 is my 75, so don't think jumping in now is a good idea, friend."

"Yeah... well... I'm stronger than Vegeta. His 100 is my... uh... I don't know," he fumbled, not really sure how to come back from that.

"Heh. Right, I'm sure. Well don't worry, I play by the rules, even if the scene is tempting enough."

Raiza just watched them from the safe distance he had. _Even if I am stronger than him, I can't exactly stay a Super Saiyan for that long. If I don't win quick, it won't really matter._

"Face it, I'm a lot stronger than you'll ever be," 18 said with confidence.

"I doubt it," Vegeta smirked back. "You're so weak I won't have to break a sweat!"

"For your information, I've been taking it easy on you. I know how fragile you flesh-and-blood types can be."

"Oh really? Well don't be doing me any favors, because I won't be showing you any mercy!"

She simply smiled. This was going to be fun. "Hm. Well, okay."

**End Chapter 14**

**Come on, you knew I was gonna HAVE to do this eventually. Well, our big meet up comes up at this chapter, and how it will develop will be seen in the oncoming chapters. Don't worry, I actually have Chapter 15 almost finished. I was writing and writing and ended up writing about 25 pages... a bittttt too much (for right now, anyway.), so the next chapter is actually almost finished as this one comes up. Should be up either tomorrow or the day after. Thanks for being patient with the sporadic and sometimes drawn out updates. Stuff happens, so thanks for not killing me. =)**

**Next chapter shall be up, like I said, in a couple of days at the most. In the mean time, well, you guys know the drill. Cya. -PD**


	15. Chapter 15

Vegeta stood to face her, waiting for her to attack. He had it in the bag, he just knew he did.

But he had barely a moment to catch what was happening as she rammed her head into his, staggering him back a few steps. A swelling bruise formed above his right eye, a cut at the very top as a thin line of blood tricked down his eye.

And with that eye he saw red. He was furious, what a cheap shot she had just made.

He roared and powered up further, flying towards her and ready to resume battle, but then he stopped before the strike could be landed.

His fists hung over her shoulders, but he stayed perfectly still while her knee remained in his gut. A small patch of blood found its way in his mouth as he coughed it up before finally being let go.

Yet before he hit the ground, 18 caught his chin with a delicate finger. "Tell me, Vegeta, I'm curious," she said as she lifted him back up. "What is it like to feel _this_ kind of pain?" and an open palm to his head sent him crashing into the mountain next to them. "I know I'm being hard on you, but it's the only way you'll learn."

"Shit," Raiza whispered loudly. "Guess she really was just messing with him."

17 smirked, but glanced up as he saw the descent of the fighters he saw just a few moments ago. "Well, well..."

Trunks glanced into the gaping hole his father was tossed into. "Are you okay in there, Vegeta?"

"Of course I am! Ugh, why wouldn't I be?"

Grasping the side of the hole, he stepped out, a few scratches and cuts across his face, but no serious damage.

"You're alright!" his future son said, relieved.

"Heh. Of course. That was just a lucky punch. What are _you_ doing here? I told you I don't need your help, and I don't want it, either!"

"Look at that! Vegeta's friends have come to his aid," 17 mocked, knowing it annoyed Raiza. "Remind me which one is your father. He's the one who makes Rapunzel look like an amateur, right?"

Raiza simply glared back at him. What was he doing? Nothing was working on this guy and now that everyone was here, he had a feeling something bad was going to happen. _Damn it, can I even fight these guys? She wasn't even trying when she knocked Vegeta into that wall._

"18 can handle them by herself, but maybe I should help. Unless..." 17 glanced over to 16. "You want to? What do you say, 16, you up for a fight?"

"No. I will not fight them," his robotic voice acting as his accent.

"You won't? Is something wrong with you, man? So you're just gonna stand there like a statue? Is that it?"

"I told you. I will only fight with Goku."

Giving up, 17 simply trekked on ahead of him, leaving Raiza behind. "All right. Have it your way, pal. But I suggest you loosen up before you rust."

"Hey! What the hell, man? You're breaking off the deal?"

"Hm? That deal was with you. No one ever told me a bunch of his friends would show up."

Before 17 took another step forward, Raiza phased in front of him.

"Well, look at you. Got some speed, don't ya?" the android smirked. "Listen, I like you. I won't hurt you, just get out of the way. Fair enough?"

Raiza said nothing as he leaned down into a fighting stance. "We had a deal. If you're going to break it, then I'm going to break you. I just wish I didn't have to do this."

"Heh. Okay, then."

17 just stood there, nothing, not even blinking. Raiza on the other hand was getting nervous. No guard, no stance, no nothing.

"Boo."

"Wha?"

Less than a second after the words left the android's mouth, a stabbing pain entered Raiza's stomach. He gasped for air as he was tossed back, right in front of the Z-Fighters in a rolling fashion when he hit the ground.

"What happened?" Raditz asked, kneeling down to his son's side as he noticed the other android approaching them.

"Sucker... punch," he coughed.

"Uh-oh," Tien said. "We got another android coming in at twelve o'clock."

"It's time to get out of here," Trunks suggested. "We should leave now and come back when Goku is better. Then we'll fight them."

Vegeta had just about had it with his future son talking about his rival the way he was. What made him so special, anyway? "What is WRONG with you? Run away? I'm staying!"

18 however, liked Trunks' idea. "You should listen to your friend. He's the one who will have to clean you off of the highway."

"Are you kidding me?" Vegeta's arrogance rising to the top again. "You want me to leave now when we're just getting to know each other? You should be so lucky," he smirked. "I fight alone. I don't need the help of anyone, and that includes these earthlings, the namek, my third-class partner and his little brat, and most of all, Kakarot!"

They couldn't believe how much he gloated, even though the odds were stacked against him, he looked, and talked as if he had already won. "I am the most powerful saiyan who has ever lived! I fear no one, especially not this android!"

Sixteen claps later, while the others turned to the source of the sound, Android 17 was with them. "A beautiful speech. I can see it now: You truly are the prince with the royal blood of a saiyan."

The prince spat. "Stay out of this, android, I'll deal with you soon enough, once I'm finished with her."

"Well, I'd hate to deny you the opportunity to test your strength against 18. So, I'll make a deal with you. I'm willing to stand aside and let you fight, as long as you fight alone. But if any one of these friends of yours tries to assist you in any way, well... I'll be... _forced_, to step in."

"He can't... keep his deals..." Raiza grunted, still struggling with the pain. No matter how hard you trained, you just couldn't train your organs to resist sudden rushes of pain like that.

"Now, now," 17 smirked. "There's a big difference now, you see. There are more people for me to worry about."

"You don't have to worry about this group," Vegeta responded. "They're a bunch of cowards. They won't risk their lives for me."

17 smiled, he was glad a decision could be made so quickly with a man so full of himself. "Then, you agree?"

"Yes. I agree."

"Then let's continue?" 18 asked.

"Bring it on," the prince beckoned.

"As you wish."

She sped towards him, knocking the prince towards the sky with a hard punch to his face. She quickly chased after him, only for Vegeta to kick himself off of the wall, slamming his head into the android. He reeled himself around her and slammed into her back with his fists balled up, knocking her into the edge of the same mountain he kicked off of.

As she struggled to pick herself up, the prince refused to give her the opportunity as he sent a strong ki blast straight towards her, her yelp a sign that it had hit as another wave of smoke followed.

"Man! What a hit!" Krillin stated. "That android is toast."

"No, she's not," Raditz said. "That didn't do anything. I don't know what Vegeta is thinking, he can't be firing test shots like that!"

Vegeta flung himself down, knowing the android was fine as he saw her staring up at him, her denim jacket now hanging off of one shoulder.

He stepped down, ready for the next round as he chuckled at her sight. This girl looked completely out of place. Dusty, dirty, tearing clothes, it wasn't a pretty sight for her.

"Heheh. What's the matter? You look a bit ruffled."

"Yes well," she started while she dropped her jacket to the floor. "Looks aren't everything. You fight quite well for such a little man. It's impressive, even if you are a saiyan."

"I know," he gloated. "There are very few who are willing to train as intensely as I did to achieve this kind of power."

18's face remained unamused by his statement. "How sad. To work so had for... so little."

"Sad for YOU!"

He was in her face a second later, slamming his shin towards her. She blocked by reflex and jumped back, going on the defense as Vegeta began an onslaught of combos. He had had enough of people talking down to his training. He was the strongest, he was going to prove it to them, even if it meant breaking this android's arm off.

_Vegeta can't keep fighting at this intensity._ Piccolo thought. "He's done for, he can't win."

Trunks and Krillin seemed shocked at Piccolo's observation, but the namek and Raditz seemed sure of the call he made.

"Look. She's making him burn up all his energy," he said.

"He's got a few more minutes at the most before he starts running on fumes," Raditz added in. "Listen, I know Vegeta better than anyone here, when he runs out of energy, he makes believe he has it and keeps fighting. The only way he's going to know he's done is if he's beaten... or if he gets killed."

"Yes. Every move takes its toll. Vegeta is getting weaker with every hit while the android remains strong," Piccolo replied back.

Vegeta slammed his fist down, but she dodged. She rushed him, but he flipped back. Another fist came down, but he dodged to the left, only for the forearm to follow him, crashing into his face as he twitched back in pain.

"No... stop!" Trunks cried.

Vegeta backed up, giving himself room to build up speed as he charged down the path again, thrusting his fist forward, but was easily caught by the android. He swung with his other hand, caught also. Before he could react, she pulled him in with a powerful knee to his stomach.

Raiza slowly picked himself up, finally standing as he watched the fight commencing, though it was clear the term _fight_ was being used loosely at this point; Vegeta was nearing the edge of losing every second it carried on.

Before he could even fully register the pain in his stomach, she sucker punched him, knocking him off his balance.

"Dad," he whispered. "What are we gonna do? He isn't going to win."

"I know that, son... I don't know what we're going to do right now, but we have to use the numbers to our advantage."

Vegeta was shot backwards into a large rock, destroying most of it but leaving it relatively sturdy. He howled in pain, throbbing and aches covered him from head to toe, yet he still kept his fearsome glare down towards the android as she approached him.

"It's time to put an end to this game, don't you think?" she asked.

_She's been toying with me the whole time!_ he thought. With the last of his adrenaline still pumping through him, he shot away from the rock and towards her, though she quickly jumped over the low kick he had delivered.

He turned to find her, but before he could, her boot met with his chin as he staggered off-balance.

_I am not putting up with this anymore! I'll show her what happens when she-_

Before he could even process this thought, she came from behind once more, pulling her leg back and launching it with as much power as she could, right into his arm.

Vegeta's pain was excruciating, only growing worse as the popping and cracking of bones told him what was really happening to him.

He had to get away. He had to. He stepped, then again, and again, his vision blurring almost every second he remained conscious. Then, he fell to his knees, at the realization that his body, and his spirit-

"Ah... ahh... AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

-shattered.

"Father!" Trunks shrieked, transforming as he blasted off of the edge of the highway, sword drawn as he headed towards his father's aid. "Nooo!"

18 simply watched as Vegeta mentally fell apart in front of him. It was quite a sight to her, really. Then she felt someone else approaching from above. She turned to see Trunks rushing down towards her, sword drawn. She slowly backed up, holding her arm up as the sword came down, only for it to bounce, and crack at one of the edges as it chipped apart where it struck.

"W-What? No way!"

But before he could do anything else, 17 shot down. With only a second to turn and see him, the android's balled fists crashed into the back of Trunks' neck, slamming him into the ground.

Piccolo came down next, but before he could get even one punch off, 17 gave a half-strength kick, sending the namek flying down to the ground in a quick defeat.

"Even their strongest fighters fall befo- oof!" he stopped as a kick from the side sent the android into the side of the mountain.

"You're talking about the _wrong_ fighters!" Raditz taunted as he pulled his leg back to his mid-air stance. "Who's next?"

18 smirked as she phased from Vegeta, appearing right before Raditz. "I suppose I am."

Raditz went in for a kick, quickly dodged as she moved to the left, something he counted on as he grabbed her arm, swinging her around before letting her crash into the side of the mountain opposite to where 17 was.

"It shouldn't be that easy," he thought out loud.

"That's because it isn't."

"!"

Raditz shot back just in time to block 17's kick, but wasn't counting on 18 dropping her own kick down onto his head as he crashed straight into the ground.

"This is too easy," the male android thought.

Before his sister could register a response, she was thrown from his sight, into the ground as a golden aura flashed in front of 17. Before he could react, a sharp pain hit his face, then his stomach, then his back as he took a trip down south as well.

"Everything's easy when you sneak up from behind. See how easy that was?" Raiza smirked, his golden hair flowing as the small breeze blew by.

17 blasted out of the hole he was shot into, making the first strike towards the Super Saiyan.

_Damn, this guy's fast!_ Raiza thought as he barely dodged in time, blocking an oncoming kick after. 17 phased away, dropping his elbow down towards Raiza's head, but was caught at the last minute as he tossed the android away from him. He quickly gave chase after him as his first punch was blocked, then leading into a battle of speed and volleying punches and kicks.

_I can't take my eyes off of this guy, I'm barely staying ahead, and my hits aren't even doing any real damage! Ugh, damn it, there goes my headache again. Man, why me?_

"Heh. Not bad for a saiyan," 17 taunted. "Yes, you're doing quite well for only 50%."

"You know, not that I don't like a good fight, but-" he dodged a quick blast of energy from 17 before backflipping away, round housing the android as he caught up to him on the side of his head and shooting him back several feet. "But I _know_ I know you guys. You aren't like this, and we might not be _great_ friends, but if there's a chance to save you I gotta try! Don't you even remember anything?"

The act was starting to bug 17. He just wasn't letting up with it. "Listen, all I remember is a crazy old bastard putting the needles to me and my sister. I don't know her name, I don't even know my name! The only thing I know, is that I killed the man who ruined my life, and I have a twin sister. That's all I know, and that's ALL I CARE ABOUT!"

His speed increased drastically. Maybe he wasn't bluffing about being only at half-strength after all. Raiza turned to block the first punch, but it was feigned as a powerful knee came into his stomach, a pair of balled fists slamming into the side of his head as he went crashing down into the highway, merely a few feet away from Krillin, who jumped back in a quick panic.

"Oh- Oh man. That android isn't playing around...!" he glanced around the battlefield. Vegeta was grounded, yet still a Super Saiyan, unlike Trunks who was out. Piccolo was down, too, but breathing. As for Raditz, he was buried under a pile of broken steel and rock. _Wait a second, where's Tien?_

17 glanced down at the caved in mountainside, rather proud of his work. Raiza put up a good fight, but he knew he didn't need to go past 80%. That was clearly too much for him, but he did enjoy the fight; and here he was thinking nobody could give him a challenge outside of his sister.

"Everything okay?" 18 asked with a smirk across her somewhat dirtied face as she floated next to her brother. "That boy put up a bit of a fight."

"Heh. Kind of. Wasn't much of a fight after I started trying a little bit, but that's expected; I'm impressed he even got a hit on me."

"Then you're gonna love this!"

The android pair turned to their side, then glanced up to see Tien floating above them, holding his hands in a peculiar fashion, but his focus was without a doubt concerning; was he expecting to fight them?

"Hey, I forgot about him," 18 remarked.

"Wonder what he's planning on doing?"

"You guys saved me a lot of trouble with aiming. Even if I'm just another thorn in your side, I'm gonna be a heck of a thorn!" he grunted, taking a very precise aim down at them.

"TAKE THIS!" he shouted. "TRI-BEEEEEAM, HA!"

The blast came at an incredible speed, considering who was using it. The twins were taken off guard, given only seconds to prep for the attack as they did the only thing they could.

Take the attack.

They were engulfed by the blast, and while it would seem satisfactory for some, Tien didn't let up. They were stronger than him, he knew they were, and he had to give everything he had, plus interest if he wanted to put any sort of dent in them. Buying time for Goku, that's what he needed to do.

"HA!" Tien shouted again. "Krillin! Get the others a Senzu Bean! HA! I'll try and hold them off!"

He hesitated, but he obliged, taking his two spare beans out as he landed by Piccolo, who was the closest. He slipped the bean into his mouth and motioned for him to chew, letting it slide down as the namek suddenly came back to. Groaning, and struggling to move, but obviously in much better shape than a few moments ago.

"Okay, now onto Vegeta. He took it pretty bad," he thought out loud as the skies were blanketed every couple of seconds by Tien's ferocious attack. The earth shook every time he fired, it was amazing someone who was ranked in the lower section of power amongst all of them could deliver such devastating attacks.

"HAAAAAAA!" Tien cried, firing his final blast before he had to stop. His fatigue was taking over, too much to bear any longer as he fell to the ground, onto his knees in a blanket of sweat.

"Gah! Oh no, the bean!"

Krillin tripped, dropping the Senzu Bean as it fell between the cracks of the rocks.

_Can't... give any more..._

When the smoke cleared, Tien glanced down the highway to see the androids on the ground, on their feet, with very little damage at all done to them.

"What? No... no way!"

"Oh way, it's very way," 17 chuckled. "But I will give you credit, had we not used our shields at the last minute, that attack would have probably killed us. As it is, you've destroyed our energy shields, so you get points for pulling the upset. Congratulations," he clapped twice.

"You're not such a weakling after all," 18 smiled. "For what it was worth, anyway."

They rushed towards him, 17 ahead of his sister as he raised his fist up, ready to deliver the blow to the one who didn't really injure them, but left them ill prepared in case they did find someone worth protecting themselves against.

Yet before he could hit him, the side of the mountain exploded in a shower of rocks, Raiza blasting out with his foot slamming straight into 17's arm as it shot him away. He took his right ahead in that same motion and pointed it straight towards 18, firing a large blast to her as the explosion confirmed a hit.

"You okay?" he asked Tien, panting as he gripped his head.

"Yeah... I'll be fine. Thanks," then he noticed the super's expression. He was in pain, in his head, anyway. Come to think of it, Tien noticed the same thing when he first transformed against Dr. Gero. Was turning into a Super Saiyan that much of a double-edge sword? He never saw Goku or Vegeta doing that, they seemed okay for the most part.

"What about you?" he asked. "You don't look that hot, either."

"Huh? Nah," he panted. "I'm okay."

His statement was quickly proven incorrect as he fell to a knee, gripping his head in frustration as the barriers of the highway in front of him began to double from time to time.

"Hang on, I've got some Senzu Beans Krillin gave me a while ago," he reached into his shirt, pulling two beans out. He took one in before handing it to the saiyan, who happily ate it.

A few moments later, the sores and pains and fatigue of fighting left him, but the throbbing in his head did not. If anything, it made the pain worse, since there was no other pain now except for that.

"I'll be okay," he said again. "I know that didn't take them out. You better go help the others."

"Yeah. Good idea."

As Tien took a Senzu Bean and seemingly recovered completely to help the others, a shower of rocks came from the other side of the highway as 18 shot straight towards Raiza. Her arm swung forward, but he ducked just in time to trip her with a full spin of his body, knocking her to her feet as he flipped forward, drop kicking her harshly into the concrete.

In response, blood seeped its way into her mouth as she coughed it up. _That attack..._ she thought. _The others are so weak, but he's so strong. He shouldn't be that much stronger than the others, yet he's the only one who's putting up any sort of challenge. 17 needs to stop fooling around, I'm already working at max power._

18 quickly flipped up, rushing towards Raiza, much to her surprise, he sloppily dodged the attack, tripping as he turned to face her while she went on the offensive, narrowly missing her hits on him.

_Now he's fighting so loosely. I don't get it, one second he's fighting better than I am, the next he's just dodging bullets by sheer luck. What's with him?_

_Why does this happen?_ Raiza cringed. _My head's about to split open! But I don't get it, Vegeta, AND my uncle did this and nothing was wrong with them!_

"Are you even taking this seriously?" 18 asked, starting to get annoyed.

"Stop yelling! Jesus, it's hard enough trying to dodge this stuff you're throwing at me!"

"Stop- what?"

She flipped forward, dropping a kick down to Raiza, meeting the concrete as the saiyan back flipped away, finally stopping down into a stance with his right eye wincing wildly at random moments.

"Okay... okay... It didn't work with him, so I'm gonna try with you. Your name is Janelle. You have a brother named Andrew, you and him helped out with an orphanage in West City. Do you remember ANY of that?"

She stared at him like he was crazy. She didn't know what to make of him. He was strong, very strong if he could last against 17- disregarding him not being at max- but he was trying to talk sense into them both at the same time. Warrior _and_ diplomat? Not likely.

"What's your game?" she demanded. "How do you get two names of some random people and assume that they're us?"

"Because they _are_ you! God damn it, why is this so hard to accept for you two? Neither of you remember your past, and someone comes in telling you what happened, details, names, everything! And suddenly, I'm crazy?"

"You're not only crazy," 17 whispered behind his ear. "You're also completely unguarded."

_Shit._

17's punch became audible to everyone around, popping and snapping of the back filled Raiza with pain he had never felt before in his entire life. His mouth opened, but instead of agonizing screaming, blood gushed out in its place, nearly choking him.

In front of him, his vision blurred as he reached out, his white saiyan glove disappearing in the darkness that quickly surrounded him. 18 simply watched him with her arms crossed.

"You guys... were..."

His hair fell back to normal as his limp body slopped onto the pavement of the highway. 17 stepped past the fallen saiyan, tapping his neck to check for life.

"Huh. I'll be, he's still alive," he thought out loud. "What do you think, 18? Should I just take him out? He's not Goku, but he's a relative. A for effort?"

For once, 18's answer didn't come easy. She thought before she spoke, when every time she spoke, she trusted it was what she meant. But this time, it was different. Why not?

_I can't let what he said get to me_. she thought. _Doesn't matter what he says, that was then. I'm not whoever I was, whenever that was, if I EVEN was._

_But I..._ she grumbled to herself. This was a problem she had been dealing with since she first laid eyes on him and heard the name Raiza. _Why is this so hard? I could just blast him or watch 17 do it... Ugh, why am I hesitating all of a sudden?_

"Well?" 17 asked. "Hey, I've got an idea," he said, stepping to her side with a hand on her shoulder. "How about you do it?"

"What?" she asked, almost startled by his suggestion.

"You feeling okay, 18? He didn't knock a chip out of place, did he?"

"No. I'm fine, nothing is wrong with me," she quickly replied. "I just think that... we should hurry up and go find Goku. Why are we wasting our time with these weaklings?"

_Very clever, sis. How obvious are you trying to be?_ "That's a good idea. You and 16 can go on ahead, I'll just finish off this guy and the others. I know where Goku's house is, so I'll meet up with you guys once I'm-"

"No, 17, let's just go!" she snapped.

"Why?" her brother calmly replied. "Is something wrong?"

"No, but we're wasting our time. He's done for, you broke his back, isn't that enough?"

"My, my..." he stroked the base of his chin. "What's with the change of heart? You're not getting a soft spot for this guy, are you?"

Before she could reply to him, she pointed to behind her brother, her mouth wide open in shock.

"Huh?" he turned, his eyebrows lifting in what he was seeing.

Not Raiza, but someone else, standing in front of him. His face was rough, and scuffed from fighting. His hair, down to his ankles, the tips of it gently riding with the breeze of the wind.

And it was gold.

"Hey," 17 said. "You changed, too."

Before he said anything else, he phased away from their sight, moving incredibly fast, even for them.

"I think I understand why my son said and did the things he did," he said behind them.

"Rgh!" 17 grunted as he tossed a fist behind him, calmly caught by the third-class saiyan with zero effort.

18 jumped back, firing a ki blast towards Raditz, only for him to take in a deep breath, exhaling it as the breath changed the beam's trajectory far off from him.

"Is that all you've got?" he coldly asked.

17 finally pulled his fist away, stepping back as he charged in for another attack, only for a sharp and stinging pain to strike his face as he skidded down several feet of asphalt.

"Pfft," he spat, tiny pieces of hair coming from his mouth. "Hair? Ugh, sick, he used his tail!"

"My son can be soft at the worst times. He gets it from his mother."

17 felt his shirt crinkle as he was lifted, his eyes meeting the green color of a Super Saiyan.

"But I am not."

**End Chapter 15**

**I know, you guys REALLY wanted a Super Saiyan Raditz. Well, now you've got him, and let me tell you, he's gonna be pretty beast. (Right now he will be, anyway.) Those of you who may be wondering how Raiza and Raditz are as strong as they are, I will be explaining that in the next chapter. However, if you're a hardcore DBZ nerd like I am, you probably already know why. See you guys next time. -PD**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys. Let's talk.**

**Ryo-chan wolfgirl: Thanks! Haha, I'm fast when I want to be. Sometimes I'll spend an hour just sitting in front of the computer with a blank expression, trying to think of what to write next. Then when I'm out with some friends I'm like "OMFG I KNOW WHAT I WANNA DO" and then my friends give me a weird look. Just kidding, but if I did do that they'd probably think I'm nuts; ideas come to me at the most random time and places. Plus the fact that Chapter 14-15 were essentially one big chapter at first, all I did was split it. 15 only needed about 2-3 more pages to be completed. And for everything else you have asked/wondered about, I'll do my best to explain in the chapter/the ending commentary. Always appreciate what you have to say!**

**johncorn: Your last two reviews are hilarious, especially the one with Krillin. The moment you said that I was like "Forever Alone? Lolol." I really had a difficult time deciding how Raditz would look if/when I made him a Super Saiyan, but I just made it easy on myself (and hopefully you, too.). Think about it like this: Goku's hair doesn't really get long when he transforms, it just sticks up. Super Saiyan 2, it details in its texture (notice how it gets a lot spikier?), and in 3, we all know how he gets the hair and loses the brows. It's essentially going to be (and is) the same thing for every other Super Saiyan 1. Just try and picture Raditz's hair as more spiky and detailed. That's the best way I could describe it, but if I'm missing something, fill me in. Appreciate the reviews!**

**ShadowMario3: I have a pattern in the making, hopefully with it I can successfully give each character their own time to shine, without overpowering them or taking anything away from Goku/Gohan. What's that mean, exactly? Don't worry, you'll see when it happens. =)**

"What is it with you saiyans and your transformations?" 17 mocked. "You think dying your hair blonde is going to give you an edge against us?"

"It already has," Raditz smirked. "The fact that you couldn't even follow me earlier shows."

17 grunted, he really didn't like this. Raditz was almost like Vegeta, except much more convincing. He did his actions, then talked the talk; Vegeta did the exact opposite, and only disappointed 18 by the sound of it.

"I want you to leave the others, especially my son," he stated. "I'm the last opponent you'll be facing here."

"Oh, really?" he crossed his arms, his confidence soaring once more. "You sound awfully sure that you're going to beat us."

17 jumped back, out of Raditz's grip and knelt down, raising his hands up in a half-serious fighting stance. "You're nothing. You couldn't even beat your own brother, and you were triple his strength. What makes you think you have any chance against me, the perfect fighting machine?"

"Heh," Goku's brother smirked, never once taking his stance. "I'll gladly show you."

17 blinked, and Raditz was gone. And then, he was in front of him. A piercing kick entered his stomach as he was flung high into the air.

Horsing his throat in anger, 17 stopped himself. That hurt. That actually, did some damage to him.

_I'm not going to play with this one. It's 100%, all the way through._

"So," Raditz started as he dropped his left arm, opening the palm as a white ball of energy started to form. "I assume since Dr. Gero studied my battle with my brother, you know some of my attacks."

"I know _everything_ about you!"

"Well, then," he smirked, raising his hand above his head. "Keep your eye on the birdie."

"What? Birdie?"

17's scanners went ballistic as Raditz's power level blasted out of his range. That one small ball could be devastating if it hit him. And with Tien destroying his shield, he didn't have a lot of options.

"Damn it!"

"Time for you to come on down!" the saiyan laughed as he tossed his arm back, then up, letting his attack go as it rocketed towards the android.

_Crap, no time!_

Barely avoiding the attack, 17 flung himself up, watching as the blast shot right past him, the explosion painting the sky in a blood red color that looked out of a supernatural thriller.

_Man, that was close. I know that would have done some damage._

He glanced down below to see his sister standing close to where they first encountered Raditz. Raiza laid a few feet from her, but, there was no Raditz.

"What? Where did he go?"

"Right here."

17 took a trip straight across the sky with a swift punch to the back of the head from Raditz. Immediately following, Raditz was in front of the oncoming android, giving a quick spin as a hard roundhouse sent the android spiraling down into the ground, crashing next to his sister.

"17," she was shocked. This guy, Raditz, who was minimal compared to Vegeta according to their data had just manhandled 17, by himself. "17, are you okay-"

"Come on, 18!" he said as he blasted out of the hole he was shot into.

"Right."

The twins flew up after Raditz, only for their strikes to hit air. They looked right, and Raditz floated with his arms crossed.

"How exactly did you beat the others? You're a couple of slugs! Hahah!"

"Are you maxed?" 17 asked his sister.

"Yeah. You?"

"I'm still at 80. I need a second to get ready."

"You know, this sure does bring back memories," Raditz said, his saiyan arrogance peaking. "Who would have thought? Two of the most 'powerful' fighters alive at the moment, versus me, and neither of them have a chance!"

"How did you get so strong?" 18 asked, obviously trying to stall for time while her brother began to reach his max. "Even before, when you attacked us, you weren't nearly this powerful. What happened?"

"Well, what could it hurt? I let the green man know about my secrets before I died, I don't see how it will be a problem for you two."

Raditz's tail, still around his waist, released itself as 18 glanced at it.

"The one thing that makes us saiyans the most powerful. Our tail."

"You're... kidding?"

"I would not," Raditz smiled. "You see, a tail for a saiyan is like a chip for a vehicle to make it go faster. Only it is a natural part of us, and with it, we can achieve great powers much simpler than those who do not wield one. Take my brother, and Vegeta, for example. Because I kept my tail, I never lost my full potential as a saiyan, nor did my son. It made reaching the legendary status of Super Saiyan a very simple task, compared to what stories I heard of Vegeta and Kakarot."

"You're bluffing," she spat. "A tail makes you stronger?"

"Why do you think someone as powerful as Vegeta fell so quickly, when I who wields one can keep you both at bay without even trying? It's true, for as long as I can remember, Vegeta was much stronger than I was. But that all changed when he lost his tail. It not only fully aids in our build as fighters, but it also coordinates us easier, balance. You remove the tail from the saiyan, it is almost as awkward as removing the big toes from a human's foot at first."

Down below, Piccolo kept his back to a wall of rock as he sat still, glancing up at the fight above him.

"I can't believe how powerful Raditz is," he said. "The way he just tossed that male android around, it was like..." _It was like back when Goku and I first fought him._

"No kidding! Heh, and here I was worried we would all buy the farm like Trunks said. I think we're gonna be a-okay!"

"Maybe. But Krillin, you can't forget that he's the _last_ line of defense for Goku. There's no way either of us could stand up to them, not that I wouldn't try."

"Any more questions?" Raditz asked. "I do hope I've been educational towards you two, it would be a shame for you both to die ignorant."

"Heh, you may be powerful, but you're at your limit," 17 stated. "Unlike me, I was never at my max. This is the first time I've ever had to raise my power this high since I fought Android 13. 100%, just for you, my friend."

"Well, then, thank you," he smirked. "Anytime you two are ready."

17 smirked, then his face turning serious as he lunged straight towards Raditz, his sister right behind him.

"It's about time," Raditz chuckled.

18 swung a kick to Raditz's face, which he simply jumped back from. 17 swung once, ducked, swung again, and this time caught by Raditz. He clenched his grip on 17's fist as he rammed his knee up into his gut. Then again, and again, finally loosening his grip as he planted a kick into the android's stomach that sent him flying back.

18 just watched as her brother shot back from her.

"You shouldn't turn your back like that."

18 turned back quickly only to meet with Raditz's shin, pressing itself harshly into her head as it spun her around onto a nearby tree below, where she laid still.

Her head started to spin, but she was securely locked between the two branches she crashed against. The last thing she could remember, before slipping into unconsciousness, was a mashing of incoherent conversations, all occurring at once.

_**You'.**_

_Wha...? What was that?_ The voices, she could hear them, but they were filtered. Almost as if she were in a tunnel and everything was an echo hitting at the same time. It was hard to even recognize them as words, it would be easier just to refer to it all as gibberish. Yet, somehow, she could understand it.

_**WillweeverseehimagainAndrew?**_

_**SomedayJanelleI'mgonnakillhim.**_

_**Thankyoufortoday.**_

_**Iwasjustinthearea**_

_****__**butthey'retoobigandyoudon'tevenhaveshoes.**_

_What... is that? That's not me, is it? And that boy we fought... he's there... he's there, too._

17's forearm came slamming down towards Raditz's head, only for it to meet a simple and half-assed block. The android was frustrated beyond belief, engaging Raditz in a quick flurry of attacks, never to once meet his target while the saiyan simply laughed at him.

"You sure seemed confident while you were picking off the green man, and my son. What happened? Malfunctioning because you found someone better? Hahah! Don't overload your CPU, I wouldn't want your browser to crash!"

"Your jokes are even worse than Vegeta's," 17 spat, flailing his limbs, still not once touching any part of Raditz, aggravating him only further. _But he's right. This guy's stronger than me. But how? I was so SURE when Dr. Gero programmed me I would have a huge gap in power compared to the others!_

_**It's true, for as long as I can remember, Vegeta was much stronger than I was. But that all changed when he lost his tail. It not only fully aids in our build as fighters, but it also coordinates us easier, balance. You remove the tail from the saiyan, it is almost as awkward as removing the big toes from a human's foot at first.**_

_That's it! His tail. Saiyans are powerful, but they don't have much in the thinking department. Thanks for giving away your big weakness. How do I go about taking care of his tail though... I got it._

"That's enough of that!" Raditz said as he knee'd 17 in the gut, elbowing his head as he flung away from him.

The android finally stopped and faced his opponent, a newfound plan in the making. "I'll admit it, you're good. Heck, you're probably the strongest out of these weaklings," then, he tapped his head. "However, more times than not, the brain will overcome what brawn can not."

"Hey now, that's not fair," he chuckled, holding back his laughter. "I don't have enough RAM in my brain to think like you both do. Hah, is that how you come up with your plans? Do you have to Google everything before you decide how to fight? Oh well, can't blame you, machines feed off of other machines in the end. What a rough life for you! Hahah!"

"You don't know what you're in for, saiyan," 17 smirked. "But I'll be more than happy to show you!"

He lobbed a small fit of energy blasts at Raditz. He simply turned accordingly to avoid the attacks, but noticed 17 flying off towards the forest nearby.

"What the- Get back back here, Terminator!" he shouted as he blasted off after him.

**X X X**

Things were starting to come back to him. He could hear fighting, wind blowing, and could feel it as it passed over his hair.

But he couldn't move.

Raiza opened his eyes, slowly, to see the cracks in the asphalt he laid upon. He was close to panicking, realizing he couldn't move, but he had his energy. Somewhat.

_I can't move?_

Then his mind ventured back. The hard punch into his back. It made sense to him now. His back was broken, but how was he so at peace with it? Maybe he had accepted it while he was asleep and didn't realize it.

Then his body started to pick itself up. He couldn't move, physically, but energy was not physical. His head could move, and that was about it as he slowly floated up, trying to feel for where the fighting was going.

_Dad... where are you?_

Then, it snapped to him. His father was fighting, and his energy had taken an incredible jump. He wasn't sure what he could do, but something told him to go to him. From the neck down, he was floppy, only supported by the energy within as he slowly glided towards the small explosions over the horizon.

"Hey, you see that?" Tien pointed. "I think that's Raiza."

"No way! How's he moving, that android really laid the hammer on him?"

"Never mind that, Krillin," Piccolo reached into his shirt, pulling out his two Senzu Beans. "I'll go take him one. You two help Trunks and Vegeta."

"Right," they both responded.

Piccolo quickly flew towards the slowly drifting Raiza, careful to not touch him or do anything that could surprise him. He wasn't sure how sensitive he was, but a sudden turn could kill him from an assumption of the damages taken.

"Raiza," Piccolo called.

The saiyan started to slowly turn his head, but was kept in place by the namek's hands.

_At least he's okay._ he thought, opening his mouth to speak, only for straining vocal chords to take the place.

"Don't speak. Take a Senzu Bean," he said as he slipped it into his mouth, gently motioning his jaw to accept it.

He guided the saiyan down to the ground as he noticed his body to start accepting the bean, but convulsing as the bones in his back began to repair themselves, straightening out and altering his posture from time to time.

With his back on the road, he shook for a moment, then finally gasped, coughing at the sudden pull of air into his lungs.

"Ugh!" he reached into his lips, wiping the blood on his armor as he sat up. "I couldn't even talk. To be honest, I don't know how I was able to even fly. Guess I was still out of it. Thanks," he smiled.

"Don't mention it, but we better see if your father needs any help. I don't like anyone being alone with those androids."

He nodded. "Good idea."

**X X X**

Raditz was quickly gaining on 17 while he humored him on his chase; he could have easily caught him if he wanted to. But he liked dodging the occasional barrage of energy blasts shot at him, it kept him from falling asleep.

"Is there even a point to this? I'm curious, you see, because since I heard you androids never run out of energy, if that's what you plan on doing?" Raditz asked.

17 had a plan, but he needed a bit more time. The benefits of constantly being filled with energy meant he could gather any amount of energy and destroy anything, if he had enough time to gather it.

And that's exactly what he needed. If he had enough time, he could fire off a blast powerful enough for him to move, then he would execute his next plan. After that, he would have him.

_I just need a bit more time._ he turned, looking back at Raditz, only for his eyes to widen when he wasn't there anymore.

17 quickly glanced ahead, only to come crashing into the point of Raditz's boot as it shot him up.

"That's enough cops and robbers for now!" Raditz roared as he phased up to where 17 was being flung. A quick spinning kick sent the android crashing into the forest below, frightening and scaring away what little wildlife decided to remain behind and brave the scary strengths of these two.

A large clump of dirt spat out of the android's mouth as he reacted just in time to dodge an oncoming kick from his opponent, taking flight once more in his effort to buy time.

"I'm almost there. I just need a few more seconds. I gotta make this count!" he said to himself, looking back as Raditz blasted his way above the trees. He was actually afraid of him. He couldn't believe it, _Raditz_, was _scaring_ him.

_Okay, here we go!_

17 shot back around, stopping as he held his open palm out towards Raditz, who was closing in.

"I've had fun playing your game, saiyan, but it's time I put an end to this!"

"Hah! Of course, let it be the one who runs be the one who decides they've had enough," he chuckled. "This is it for you, android! Accept it!"

Then Raditz stopped in his tracks as he noticed the hand grow an enormous red ball of energy. Its size grew massive within seconds, easily enough to destroy the plant several times over.

"What- How did he-" _Wait! He has limitless energy! Idiot! He was making me chase him so he could charge his energy up. How could I have- No, there's no time. I can't let him destroy the planet!_

"I can give you blasts like this and bigger all day, my friend!" 17 cockily said. "However, I've got a bit of a date with that younger brother of yours. You'll have to take this as a down payment for next time!"

The ball came hurtling down at an incredible speed. With barely any time to think, Raditz charged up a Double Sunday as quickly as he could, firing the beams straight into the ball. It stopped, but it did not move it back. It was a stalemate.

"Damn this thing! What... power!" he cursed, surging in as much power as he could. He didn't have a lot of time, if he couldn't move this monstrosity soon, all the energy he was putting in would cause it to explode, and everything would be for nothing when the planet was destroyed.

_There's no other choice. This is my only chance, I can't mess this one up!_

Raditz released his attacks as the ball began its descent, now even larger in size as loose gravel from the ground began to shake and fly away as it drew closer.

Using this was new for him. He had been shown, and had pulled it off only a few times, but it was him and his brother's way of finally establishing their relationship with each other. Because of this, they were brothers, in both of their minds.

Putting his wrists together, Raditz kept them tightly close as he placed it towards the right side of his waist.

"You want to see power, then I will give you that and much more!" he shouted.

"Ka... me... ha..."

It was even closer now, trees being yanked out of their roots from the ground, soaring across the horizon. The sky, as they knew it, was a near-black purple.

"Me...!"

_Almost! Almost! I need just a few more seconds!_

"Idiot! You've given up? You can't stop this attack, I've got enough energy to just toss another one!" 17 mocked. He needed that bluff to start another charge for his next attack.

_I won't let them do this. I'm different now! This world, everyone on it, they've changed me. Somehow, Kakarot... you've changed me._

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The blast was as magnificent as expected, if not, even more. With a beautiful shade of sky blue, the blast punched into the red ball of destruction, immediately pushing it upwards as it shot straight towards 17.

"No way! He doesn't know that technique!"

The android made a lucky break as he rolled mid-air out of the way of the attack. The ball kept going, moving even faster as the Kamehameha escorted the ball out of the area, out of the atmosphere, and essentially, on a long ride off of the planet. A strong mix of purple could be seen as the beams combined, exploding in space.

**X X X**

Raiza and Piccolo stopped, just above a collection of trees. The blast they had seen did the impossible. They were afraid they were too late, but just like that, it was gone.

"That attack," Piccolo started. "It's the Kamehameha! Did... does Raditz?"

"Yeah," Raiza replied. "My uncle taught him, as my father taught him the Double Sunday. It's an honor, sort of a bonding when saiyans exchange attacks."

"I see. Either way, we better hurry. No doubt that attack took a lot out of him."

"Yeah, let's go."

As the two bolted towards the scene, still far enough away from them, a hidden female android stood on one of the tallest branches of a nearby tree.

Now that she saw him again, after when she had been hit like that... he seemed like someone she knew.

"Why is it that I... know him? And so much... about everything else?" she glanced down at her hands, gripping them into fists as she growled to herself. "Why can't I... Dr. Gero... you bastard!"

Then her sense came back to her. Her brother was out there, fighting Raditz, by himself. Not only that, two more fighters were heading his way. Piccolo was no problem, and if 17 was fighting at 100%, Raiza wouldn't be much of a challenge either. But Raditz was defying every bit of data they had on him.

_I need to get to him. But I can't just ignore this. I need to find out how much of it's true... 17 has to listen!_

**X X X**

When it was clear, Raditz looked around for the android. He was nowhere and sight, and he was almost glad for that, because that attack took a lot of him. He sighed to himself as he allowed a few deep breaths to escape.

"I should thank Kakarot for this when we are done."

"You're not even close to being done."

Raditz irked as he shot his head to the side, catching 17 flying at him with a kick. Not much time to prepare, but he made due, jumping up just seconds before the attack hit.

"Still too slow, even when you had the drop on me!"

_**Vazwing!**_

_**Plop!**_

_Got you._

Raditz hit the ground, howling in agony as he fell to his knees, attempting to cradle the severed half of what was once his.

"M-My... my tail! What have you done to me?"

To his horror, only seconds after, the half-tail he was cradling, become loose, falling off of his backside as he held it in his hands, now facing it.

His tail, cut straight in half.

"No... you can't... this isn't happening!"

"It is," 17 said, his voice echoing in Raditz's ears due to his closeness, the saiyan not even paying attention to him at this point. A smirk escaped the android's lips as a hard backhand sent Raditz skidding away onto his side.

"What's worse? I'll tell you. You had me beat, you had us both, beaten! And you, like every other arrogant and foolish saiyan, you give away your strengths, and they become your weakness!"

Raditz quickly jumped to his feet, only to stagger. His stance was loose, almost as if the floor was being lifted around him. He finally regained his composure and flew straight to 17, slamming his fist down towards the android, only for 17 to easily catch it. He clutched his fist, bending his arm back as he forced Raditz's back to his chest.

"You saiyans are all the same," he sneered, twisting his arm further, his screams began echoing throughout the forest around them. "But I thought this fight was different. It was the first time, _ever_," his free hand gathered a ball of energy, the heat dwelling above where he had cut the saiyan's tail off, amplifying Raditz's horrifying screams as his cries he swore could be heard everywhere. "That I had ever been scared. You are literally the only one who had struck fear, legitimate fear, into me. Not even Dr. Gero, not even Android 13, not even the bomb inside my chest that could explode at any given second if conditions of pressure are met!"

"Ahhhhh haaaaa!" he howled.

"But like every other opponent, I've got years upon years of studying. The one thing I will grant my creator credit is never having the ignorance that you other feeble-minded cowards possess. You're arrogant, and pride yourself on such power that you give away your very weaknesses, without even realizing it!"

Finally bored of this, 17 released Raditz's arm and dismissed his attack, only to crash his foot into his back, planting his face into the ground as he plowed several feet ahead of him in the dirt.

He jumped up, bringing his foot down on top of the fresh and bloodied wound that was once a proud saiyan tail. He crammed it down further, and although his face was muffled in the soil, Raditz was without a doubt in some of the most agonizing levels of pain he's ever been in his entire life.

"So I got to thinking," 17 thought out loud, keeping his foot firm. "What is the best way to take care of the tail? Then it hit me. Distract the idiot, and when he least expects it, take away his tail. And what a decision, you really weren't kidding about how _weak_ it makes you. This must be your real strength when that tail is gone. Just a worthless, third-class saiyan. Just like you've always been, while I am superior to you in every conceivable way! Hahah!"

17's laughing continued, so boisterous that he failed to hear the piercing of the wind caused by an incoming foot, slamming straight into his face as he was tossed into the forest.

"Dad!" Raiza cried as he took to his father's side. "Dad, it's me, I'm here!"

He knelt down, touching his wound. It was real, and the two halves he had just seen were proof of it. His tail was gone.

He flipped him over, his father's face was cut and bruised from the rocks and sticks he was pressed into. Without a doubt, his father was exhausted, too much to maintain his Super Saiyan form as his hair slowly went down, fading along with his eyes back to his normal state.

"Heheh."

Raiza and Piccolo glared in the direction of the sound as 17 stepped out of the trees, his arms crossed and a very light footprint branded on his cheek.

"I must say, that actually, left its mark on me?" he chuckled. "Anyone? No? Well, I thought it was funny."

Raiza quickly left his father's side as he charged straight towards 17, transforming back into a Super Saiyan as his battle cry followed his fist down towards the android.

Raditz was one thing, but Raiza was not as strong as his father was. Back when he was only at half-strength, he would be a bit concerned. But this was a slug in a race against turtles to him. He easily caught the fist, bringing Raiza in closer as he slammed his knee into his stomach. In a fluid spin, his foot crashed into his side as he skidded back towards where his father laid.

"Funny. I remember you being much stronger back then. Oh well, I guess I can't help it for being strong _and_ smart. You know, they say some people can win their fights before they even start. I'll admit I had my worries at some point, but I never lost my cool. I can't say the same for you three right now, can I?"

Raiza picked himself up, his body already aching even though he had just been given a Senzu Bean. He looked over to Piccolo. "Hey. Give my dad a bean, he needs it more than anything right now."

"You're sure? This is the last one I have."

"He needs it more than us. You don't get it, we aren't like namekians or humans, if we don't have our tail, it takes a VERY long time for us to readjust to the new level of balance. Never mind... the fact that loosing the tail cuts our power down. If he can't fight, the least we can do is make sure he lives to adjust."

"What about you?"

"I'm gonna do what I can against him."

"What?" Piccolo asked. "Are you nuts? You saw what he did to you just now, and what he did to your father, and you know how much stronger he is than-"

"Do you have a better idea?" he snapped. "When he's better, get him out of here."

"You're sure about this?"

"No. Not really, but we don't have any other choice."

They exchanged nods as Piccolo lowered himself to deliver the last Senzu Bean he had to Raditz. As for Raiza, his temporarily green eyes focused on his new opponent as his stance took place.

"I'd hate to think what would happen if I cut _your_ tail off," he smirked. "You probably wouldn't even be able to maintain that little state you have going on."

"That's enough out of you!"

Raiza bolted towards 17, surprisingly taking him off guard as his fist slammed straight into his face, his knee doing the same to his stomach. Taking advantage of this small opportunity, Raiza battered 17's mid-section with as many fists he could manage in his quick flurry, finally toping it off with his shin striking into 17's head, sending him flying into the air.

He chased after him, flying up after him and fast enough to get behind where he was heading, elbowing the android's back as he spun about. He gave chase once more, dropping his foot down onto the android's back as he went crashing down into the open plain of the forest.

The Senzu Bean worked as quickly as it entered into Raditz's system. He came to, attempting to stand, only to wobble backwards, held up by Piccolo.

"Ack. I feel like I'm completely trashed," he glanced around. "Raiza. Where is he?"

Piccolo pointed to where 17 had gone, crashing into the ground as Raiza floated far above, gathering energy within his hands.

"I'm not doing it anymore. You're Andrew, I know you are. But you're also a brainwashed killing machine that's gone bat shit crazy! I'm not letting this go on anymore, I should have killed you when I had the upper-hand, but I guess that's the price for having a heart!"

He roared as his hands shimmered with light, finally, flinging them wildly at the ground as 17's body was consumed by the awesome yellow light that pelted him from above.

Several seconds passed, and Raiza ended the bout with one last ball, much stronger than the others as the explosion was seen shortly after it struck the ground.

The smoke covered the entire area, and Raiza felt confident about his attack.

"Whew... that... was close," he thought out loud. "I can't believe I actually got the jump on him!"

"You didn't."

"What the!-"

Raiza's head shot back, only to meet 17's leg as it spun him out of control towards the ground. A second later, the android's elbow bashed into his head, crashing the Super Saiyans' both into the ground below.

"Heh," 17 chuckled. "Nice try, but it takes a lot more than a couple of fast punches and a 4th of July light show to finish me off."

"Raiza!" Raditz shouted. His son's body laid still in the ground, and his hair receded back to its normal state. His father flared, hair quickly spiking back to life as he transformed, rushing towards 17 in a fit of rage.

"Raditz, wait!" Piccolo called, but he was too far gone. Too far angered by the sight he had seen and his helplessness that led him to watch his son be beaten so quickly.

He came dashing in, spinning a kick that was easily blocked. On the ground, he was at a heavy disadvantage. In the air though, he had a chance. At leas then, he wouldn't be wobbling around like a drunken idiot.

How the tides had turned, when 17 was the one on the end, easily dodging the flailing and volleying of fists and kicks. His laughing only egged Raditz even further, and he enjoyed every second of it.

"Isn't this a nice change of pace? Now _I_ get to be the one who enjoys your pathetic attacks," he laughed, stopping Raditz's fist with his arm. "Unfortunately, like I've been saying, I can only have so much fun for so long. I do have a mission to fulfill, but I'll tell you what. I promise I'll kill Goku quickly, that way, after I kill you, you won't have to wait so long in the next dimension to see him. Pretty nice offer, don't you think?"

"GO TO HELL!" he spat, swinging his other fist. "I'll... never... forgive you!"

Just like the other, it was blocked as well. Raditz's teeth gritted so tightly, they seemed as if they were all about to break apart at a moment's notice. His arms trembled, struggling as much as they could as the android simply chuckled while simply moving his arms away with the ones he was using to block.

"I learned so much more about you saiyans today than I thought I would. Thank you, Raditz."

Before he could even register the pain he was in, three hits, then a kick were made to him, blasting him down into the ground at a speed he didn't think possible. His left shoulder pad broke on the impact, the abrasion of the armor on his skin cut it in several small areas, stinging as dirt found its way inside.

17 dropped down to the ground, clapping a few times before stopping. "This may have been the most challenging fight I've ever had. A round of applause for you both. Father and son, how about that? If Goku is even stronger than you two, then, man, I'll sure be in for it, won't I?" he chuckled.

"How unfortunate that I have to cut our time short now," lifting his hand, a red ball of energy formed, quickly growing in side, more, and more, until it was well more than big enough to engulf the saiyan he was targeting.

Grunting, and spitting up dirt, Raiza staggered to pick himself up as his vision showed him four 17s, all aiming a devastating attack down at four fathers of his.

"No... No! I gotta... stop him!" he mumbled as he stumbled, picking himself up as he ran as quickly as he could. "Dad, no!"

Raditz roared to himself, forcing himself up by sheer willpower alone. He was just winning, he had this! He was going to do it!

_I screwed this up. I messed everything up, because I couldn't get my head out of my ass, I'm no better than Vegeta!_

"Good, you're awake," 17 said, the ball flaring with electricity as it shot from the ball he was readying to fire off. "This is just what you need to see, before I send you off!"

Raditz nearly fell back, almost wobbling once again as another ball shot towards him.

Thinking on instinct, he flew up, only for the ball to change into his direction as it followed him.

_I don't have any more energy! Damn it! I can't even focus right now!_

He shouted, gathering his energy into his hands as he flung weak ki blasts into the ball, some of them not even making it to the ball before simply evaporating from a lack of sufficient energy.

"No! I can't even... they're not even going through!"

Then something happened that took him by complete surprise.

It sped up.

Nearing him ever so quickly, there was no time for him to move. All of his energy at this point was holding his transformation. After that, he had nothing. Losing his tail was letting the air out of a tire. He was empty, all of the time now.

But a harsh shove to his left took him by surprise. His body flung about, tossing aside several feet as his eyes glanced at someone he hadn't wished he was seeing. Not there.

_Raiza?_

The ball quickly overtook him, engulfing him as it traveled upward, further into the sky, and just before Raditz could even register what was happening.

It exploded.

"RAIZAAAA!"

He reached for him. His hand only went so far. No, he wasn't dreaming. Dreams did not feel this real. His heart didn't clench like it did in his worst nightmares, and his tears did not feel as hot as they did now as they washed down his face.

"NOOOOOOOO!" he screamed.

But just as quickly as his despair came, it turned into a type of hate he had never known. Not even Frieza, a man who enslaved him, killed his father, his race, destroyed him home. No, Android 17 had rightfully taken that spot from him. A new adrenaline filled his veins, and his mind was set on one thing now: revenge.

In a pained cry of hate and bloodlust, he flung down as fast as he could, 17's smug expression only egged him on even further. He couldn't think of anything else, and the question kept playing in his head; why couldn't he have killed him when he could have? His son, the only thing that kept him going, he was dead. Dead, and it was all because of him. Not the android, him, the father. But he would correct this mistake by finishing him off, once and for all.

But when he blinked, 17 was not on the other end of an open field, he was right in his face. His foot felt like a blunt instrument, crashing into his chin as his world spun around, a knee slamming into his gut, and a pair of fists balling up and crashing into his head, flinging him into the ground.

He tried, so hard, to get up. His vision, blurry, wet, glazed, and hot.

"Rai... za... I'...m..."

His hair fell back once more, back to black as he fell into unconsciousness, no longer a threat to the android.

"Huh. That certainly took a bit longer than I thought. That reminds me, where's 18?"

Before 17 could attempt an investigation, his scanners went off, glancing to his right as Piccolo charged straight at him, cocking his arm back as he readied a hit.

"Heh. After those two, why should I be worried?" he thought out loud, easily dodging the punch, delivering his own into the namek's gut as he heaved over, collapsing onto the ground from pain.

It was then she descended. His sister, finally caught up to him... but not fast enough to save _him_.

"Hey, enjoy your nap? I had to take care of everything, and let me tell you, it stopped being fun a long time ago!"

"17... There's only 2. Where's the-"

"Oh, Raditz's kid? Don't worry about him, he's probably somewhere around in a million little pieces."

_What?_ she panicked. He wasn't serious, was he?

"Hey, what's with that face?" 17 chuckled. "Come on, it's not like he gave me a lot of options. Let's go, 16 probably rusted from standing there the whole time."

18's scanners kept searching, anything, any energy that was within the area. Anything, even average or below average power levels. But there was nothing. Raiza's energy.

Completely gone.

"Hey! Hello?" her brother waved. "You coming?"

"Yeah. Just a second," she replied, glancing at where the smoke had been sitting in the massive explosion that she had just barely missed.

_Don't... be dead..._

**X X X**

A few minutes later, they descended back onto the highway they had left 16 and the other fallen fighters at. 17 landed first, 18 right after.

"Hm, well, there's 16. Guess he's true to his word, if nothing else," 17 said.

18 glanced around. Something didn't seem right. It was very... quiet.

A loud yell was heard from behind them as a foot found its way across 18's face, slamming her into the mountainside.

17 turned only to find the mangled and somehow, still kicking Vegeta. His broken arm still flopped about as he held his hand open to the android, gathering as much energy as he could as quickly as he could.

"Oh, please," 17 laughed. "What do you think that's going to do? I'm gonna tell you something, _prince_, I already fought the strongest saiyans. You'll be happy to know, you are not among them. And that holds quite a bit of promise for you. Since you were weak, and Raditz and Raiza were strong, I cut them down first. Maybe next time, you'll get lucky and put up a better fight against 18."

"You absurd machine! Never speak down to the prince of all saiyans! Die!"

His attack came quickly towards 17, simply smirking as he slapped the attack away from him.

"Ah!" he gasped.

"You don't know when to quit, do you?"

Vegeta turned around to see 18, kicking into his broken arm as he howled in pain, so severe, he quickly passed out from the pain as his hair reverted back to normal.

"Huh. So much for that," 17 noticed.

The androids turned down to where 16 was standing, only to pick up two more power levels behind them once more.

"Hold it right there!"

They turned, hopefully for the last time to see Tien in a fighting stance, Krillin shaking in his boots right behind him.

"Hey. You're still alive?" 17 asked. "Oh well. Guess we can finish you off before we leave."

"Give it your best shot! Let's go, Krillin!" Tien commanded as he rushed towards them, not realizing his companion didn't even have the guts to move a muscle.

He flung his fist right at 17, easily sidestepping it. Tien followed his movement, actually connecting his forearm into 17's face, shocking him as it knocked him back slightly.

17's expression grew irritable. He took control of the fight quickly, kneeing Tien's stomach and backhanding his face, skidding his body across the street, past Krillin.

"That was a shocker," 18 pointed out. "You didn't think he could hit you?"

"Doesn't matter. Let's go."

"Right."

"H-H-Hey!"

Amused at the amount of fear they instilled into the short fighter, the twins glanced at Krillin.

"Something on your mind, my short little friend?" 17 asked.

"Why are you guys doing this? Why do you have to hurt people, and why are you still going after Goku if you already killed Dr. Gero?"

"There's no 'reason', we just do it," 18 replied. "I'm not sure what we'll do after we find Goku and eliminate him."

"Never know. Goku may beat us. He _is _the strongest fighter on this planet. Is he not?" 17 asked.

_Oh man. I can't believe it. Piccolo, Raiza, Raditz. They didn't come back! That means if they died then... oh no! The Dragon Balls!_

"What?" 17 asked. "Were you going to try and... stop us?"

"I... uh, I... ugh!"

His panicked carried over, so much so, he failed to see 18 walking towards him, a look of near pity on her face, as she leaned her face in, saying "Good luck," before giving him a small kiss on his cheek.

Still petrefied in fear, Krillin did nothing as he watched the two androids walk towards 16, a second later, lifting off of the ground and taking flight away from them.

"Oh... man. This is... bad!"

**X X X**

Far away, thousands of miles from where the androids, Goku, and Earth's special forces laid about, a tiny village in the far north was blanketed by an oncoming blizzard. The weather so severe, that even when the sun was shining strongly everywhere else, the clouds were too thick to allow any strong rays of light in. It was gloomy, and often times, dark before five.

In the snow, about a mile out from the village, a hand, fingers hanging loose from a ripped glove laid on the snow. Closed eyes, and a slowly cooling body was beginning to blend in with the natural surroundings. Cuts, bruises, destroyed armor, and a stiff, frozen monkey tail.

This is what was left of Raiza.

And it would have been, until two old faces, not seen in several years, caught a glimpse of it after investigating a loud crash they heard just minutes ago.

Standing at his side, a beautiful young girl with straight red hair stood with a large goat wrapped around her, a tall hat on top of her head that kept her warm, even in these harsh conditions. To her right, a large and somewhat round man, easily mistaken to be considered Frankenstein.

"Look, Eighter!" she said, pointing to one particular part of his body. "He has a tail."

"Wow. He does. Just like Goku."

"We better get him to the chief. He'll die if we stays out here any longer."

"It's late, Suno. Why don't we take him back to your house?"

"Okay. We can take him to the village chief tomorrow. We better hurry."

As the hours progressed, Raiza was taken back to Suno's home, and laid by the fire to see if he would come around. In the meantime...

**X X X**

17 and the others had managed to hijack a very nice and nifty pink delivery truck from a gas station they found along the way. It was in this cold region, he remembered something he had to do. While they were driving, he stopped the van for a moment, scanning with his compass to find the way he needed to go. One road to the left, one to the right; your average, everyday, fork in the road.

"What are you doing, 17? You know Goku's house is that way," his sister said, referring to the left.

"Yes, but don't you remember what happened earlier? Does the memory of a certain three-eyed Tien Shinhan destroying our energy shields ring a bell?"

"What are you suggesting? We find parts? Fix the shields ourselves?"

"No," he smirked. "I know someone who can do it all for free."

"Who's that?"

17 turned the wheel to the right, making a new turn in the fork the van was sitting in as they headed north.

"Dr. Gero's old partner, Dr. Flappe, of Jingle Village."

**End Chapter 16**

**Yeah so I kind of... wrote a lot. You don't mind, do you? And all of you DB fans, were you expecting THAT at the end? This is gonna be fun. I put that thing with Tien destroying their shields in last chapter for a reason, and that reason will come to fruition soon.**

**For anyone who is wondering, no, Raiza is not dead. He's pretty near-death, but not dead. If Suno and Eighter didn't find him, he'd definitely be clocking out. **

**If you just simply can't wrap your head around something, PLEASE, ask me. I have absolutely no problem answering your questions. I will either do it in the next chapter, or, if you just can't wait, ask me to message you with your question, and I will do so. Well, if there is nothing else, please review, and I'll see you next time. -PD**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hi, so ShadowMario3 brought something up I wanted to address to everyone, as some of you may be wondering "Why did Raditz loosing his tail end up making him weak/uncoordinated?" I had a feeling someone would bring it up, and I'm glad someone did, so I could answer it for everyone.**

**In GT, Goku's tail was brought back to bring out his true power. Now, for those of you who do not consider GT canon, we'll look at the original DB. Think back to the first World Tournament Saga, when Goku fights Giran. Here is the fight (Sorry if it eventually gets taken down =P) youtube[dotDOTputthatDOTRIGHTHERE]com/watch?v=h-FrzJ6iVtc I actually enjoyed the fight, so if you want, watch the whole thing. But if you want to see my point, skip to about 6:50ish, and you'll hear Goku defending how his tail actually makes him stronger, even testing it out on one of the ring's walls and destroying it. This doesn't necessarily mean it can be used as a balance, like Raditz and Raiza suggested, but considering they've had it for their entire lives, and Goku did not, I think it only makes sense for them to be near-dependent on it.**

**Oh, yeah, one more thing, ShadowMario3. Suno and Android 8 live in Jingle Village, not Penguin. If you recall, Goku chases General Blue to Penguin Village, where he meets Arale and gets the dragon radar fixed. Jingle Village, he (I did this on purpose lol) crash lands in the snow, and Suno finds him, and drags him back to her house. How I always remember: Jingle = snow, General White. Penguin = sunny, General Blue.**

**Mrbrightside098: During the Android Saga, they stated multiple times they were going to kill Goku. That obviously didn't happen since 1) He was moved before they showed up at his house and 2) Piccolo distracted them/ultimately got 17 and 18 caught by Cell. I can see where you may be confused, but I don't plan on doing things that drastically. I'm basically just writing this saga again, only I brought Raditz back and made Raiza. Changes, yes, but nothing that won't affect the major plot of the story, rest assured. =)**

**Okay, well that's enough for right now. Back to seeing what happens next.**

It went from freezing, to wet, to freezing again, then to dry. Now, he was warm, but exhausted. His eyes wouldn't even humor him enough to open, but he enjoyed this feeling, next to a fire? It had to be.

Hours later, he found himself waking up again. Where was he? He was just fighting, then, he remembers pushing his father out of the way of an attack... then ending up here.

His eyes slowly opened. Crackling sounds of flames became louder, but relatively silent. He didn't realize how close he was until he saw it with his own eyes. He was lying on a mattress, in an open room, most likely the living room.

He groaned to himself, picking himself up in a sitting motion and looking around. Then, to his right, he saw the person who had rescued him.

"You were out for quite a while," Suno smiled. "But it looks like you're okay. How are you feeling?"

He ran his fingers through his hair. He was alive, and, where were his clothes? He was wearing something different. A white shirt and black pajama pants. _Where's my armor?... Probably got destroyed._

"I'm Suno," she said. "This is Jingle Village. My friend and I found you outside of town and brought you here. Do you... remember anything?"

"Lights... Father... Androids!" he panicked, quickly trying to pick himself up, only to fall back and onto the mattress.

"Calm down. You're still pretty banged up from when we found you. You're lucky, you had no broken bones or anything seriously wrong with you."

Suno got out of her chair and sat next to the bed-written saiyan, clearly annoyed he couldn't get up or move much due to the soreness spreading through his body.

"Take it easy. Why don't we start with the basics. What's your name?"

"Raiza."

"Where are you from? I had to ask, because..." she lifted the sheets up, cold air running inside the moment it opened up, pointing to a cold and stiff saiyan tail. "I used to know someone. He had a tail, just like this."

"I'm a saiyan. We have tails."

She had no idea what he meant, and it was apparent as she quirked her eyebrow at him. "Um... right. Okay, well, I have to know this. Do you know someone named Goku?"

"That's what everyone calls him here, right?" he smirked. "I guess that's his Earth name. His saiyan name is Kakarot... He's my uncle."

"Your uncle, wow! I knew you two looked alike!" she said, snapping her fingers. "Yeah, you see, I met your uncle a really long time ago. He saved our village from the Red Ribbon Army's General White, and-"

"Wait, did you say Red Ribbon Army?"

"Yeah, why?"

What a coincidence. Was everyone he going to meet on this planet somehow going to be connected to his uncle?

"Nothing, I just uh... heard that name a while ago."

"Oh. Okay. Are you hungry?"

His stomach answered for him.

"Heh, well it's not much, but it's something. I had some potato soup I was going to eat, but I think you need it more than I do; I'll just eat some leftovers from last night."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it," she replied while making any final adjustments to the soup.

"No, I mean... for rescuing me."

"It's no big deal, I couldn't exactly just leave you there, you know?"

"Just... where exactly did you put my armor? I was wearing it, wasn't I?"

"Oh, that. I had my friend take it to Dr. Flappe. He lives on the edge of town. If anyone could fix it, it'd be him. To be honest I didn't even think it was armor when I first saw it, but my friend Eighter pointed it out to me, so I had him take it to Dr. Flappe... Sorry, I guess I should have told you."

"I see."

**X X X**

"You two are awfully quiet," 17 said, keeping his eyes on the road as they made their way to finding the hopeful source of help in their repairs. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Just wish we'd get this over with. Hopefully these people have a mall or something; these rags are not cutting it anymore."

"Huh."

"What?" she turned to him. "Was there something wrong with what I said?"

"No, I suppose not; I'd probably feel the same way if I had the hots for some girl and you blew her up as well."

"_What_ are you talking about?" her eyes narrowed as she rested her head on her shoulder. She knew this would happen. Stay quiet for longer than ten minutes and he thinks something is wrong. Act like nothing is wrong, and he makes up an answer for himself.

But damn, was he a good guesser.

"Nothing. I just noticed how my sister's mood slowly went down the tubes after I blasted that Raiza kid."

"That has nothing to do with it. I'm just bored, and I don't see a reason why we have to go to this stupid little village to fix our shields when we don't even need them."

"Don't need them, huh? What should we have done then if we didn't have them, and Tien shot that attack at us? You don't really plan to tell me you would just 'take it like a man' would you? Come on, let's be real here."

"Do you even _know_ if Dr. Flappe is still alive?"

"No, but if our good friend is anything like Dr. Gero, he keeps all his blue prints scattered all over his lab. If he's dead, we just find his work and take it. We'll fix the shields ourselves if we need to."

"Fix them ourselves, right," she rolled her eyes. "And who exactly is going to be doing this?"

"Easy. 16 will."

"Science is not my strong suit," the large android replied.

"What?" 17 quickly glanced back before returning his sight to the road. "Didn't Dr. Gero design you with emergency repair plans in case there wasn't any means for him to do it?"

"No. He did not."

"Why not?" 18 glanced back.

Then a very rare smirk came across 16's face as he kept his back to the wall.

"I do not need one."

"Heh, okay pal, have it your way. You sure are pretty simple, 16, I like that about you," 17 replied.

"What? Goku?"

"Hey 18, maybe we should do some enhancing to 16 if we can. His personality is probably going to kill me before anything else."

"Why? It's not like you can die, you have eternal life as long as your system remains functional."

"I guess. Still, it couldn't hurt. We shouldn't be much further away from the village now. Dr. Flappe's home is a little ways out in the outskirts, so we shouldn't have to worry about finding it."

"Whatever, just hurry up, I'm getting bored."

"Yes, your majesty, right away."

**X X X**

"Thanks for the food, Suno," Raiza said, stepping to the door. "So Dr. Flappe's house is to the right, then upwards till I see a small house, right?"

"Yeah, that's right, but I think you should-"

He was already out the door when she said 'yeah,' the door shut quickly behind him.

_Why does this seem so familiar?_ she wondered.

Literally seconds later, Raiza came rushing back inside, shivering beyond belief with random parts of his body already covered in ice.

"I-I-I, it's-"

"Cold?" she giggled. "Goku did the exact same thing. He ran out and was back inside in seconds. I've got a jacket you can use."

She handed him a set of clothes, boots, gloves, and all. Mostly assorted around the darker range of colors, but it fit perfectly. The black coat stretched all the way down to his knees, but was a perfect fit for him, much to his surprise.

"Wow, talk about crazy, huh? I didn't think my daddy's old stuff would fit on you."

He smiled as he nodded his head, thanking her as he left the house, this time, not planning on coming back due to the weather, but to find Dr. Flappe.

_I should get back to everyone... I just can't sense anyone's power from this far away. That or... geez, it's still freezing! That might be it, too._

**X X X**

The van finally came to a stop, almost too sudden, giving a slight jerk to everyone inside.

"What is wrong with you, 17? If you can't work this thing we should just fly," his sister snapped.

"Calm down, we're here, aren't we?"

With the two androids exiting the vehicle, 16 remained inside the van as the twins approached the small-frame door, knocking politely.

"Hello? Anyone home?" 17 asked in a normal tone.

Silence.

"I knew it. This was such a waste of time," 18 said, rolling her eyes.

Almost as if on cue, the door unlocked and creaked open, surprising even the androids at what they were looking at.

Dr. Flappe, keeping his afro and mustache as he always had, with his over-sized glasses, was reduced to a wheelchair, motion controlled by his hand. The rest of his body remained stiff, but his fingers moving periodically showed he could at least still use the limbs they needed the most to repair their shields.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"Hello. Are you Dr. Flappe?"

Flappe's eyes opened in surprise. How did complete strangers know him, when a majority of the villagers did not, with the few who did know never mentioned him? It had been so long since he had been outside his house, everyone simply assumed he had died. Maybe they were with the village, and they were checking in to see if he was alright.

"Yes. I am Dr. Flappe. What is it you want?"

Then, his eyes traced to the scarf of the young man who was speaking to him.

_R... R? What, but that can't be! Are they... ?_

"My name is... well, I suppose I don't have a name anymore, thanks to you and Dr. Gero. But you can call me, Android 17. This is my sister, Android 18."

"I... but... there's no way. Dr. Gero told me he destroyed all of his works, I was there when he did it!"

"Obviously he had made time for us," 18 replied.

"Wait... Yes. Yes, I know you two. The twins..."

"May we come in, _doctor_?" 17 asked.

Without an answer, the androids stepped ahead of him, shutting the door behind them and locking it.

"Why are you here? Where is Dr. Gero?"

"Ah yes, Dr. Gero," 17 smirked. "I think I still have some of him stuck to my shoe, if you want me to check."

_What? They killed him... I see._

"I see," he calmly replied. "Then you have come to seek vengeance. Yes, I share my part in creating you two. After the Red Ribbon Army was disbanded, I thought Dr. Gero was on the verge of rather revolutionary technology. His ideas, and his data, it was superb in every way possible. But we were arrogant. I see now what playing God gets me."

"I haven't decided if I'm going to kill you yet, doctor," 17 replied. "You seem to be suffering enough as it is. How badly paralyzed are you, exactly?"

"Below the waist."

"Interesting. How exactly did that happen?"

"A few years ago I contracted amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. I've been paraplegia since."

"Ah yes, the dreaded Lou Gehrig's disease. You have my sympathies, thanks to you I can live forever in perfect health, while you suffer from not being able to stand, and Dr. Gero is in a million pieces. I think this is a good end for you both, don't you agree?"

Dr. Flappe said nothing as he turned his chair around to face the android who was so taunting him.

"Just tell me what you want."

"Earlier today we were in a battle. One of the fighters managed to destroy our energy shields, completely. We were wondering if you would be so kind as to repair them for us," the male android said, smirking at the old doctor. He was almost certain he couldn't do any repair in his condition, in which case he could simply kill him and take the plans himself.

With a heavy sigh, the doctor finally replied. "It will take a few hours for each of you. You will need to be put under for this operation, but, because I know you don't trust me, I naturally expect one of you to watch over the operation. That's good, because I will need one of you to aid me. I can't exactly stand."

"You want one of us to hold you up while you work on us?" 18 asked.

"Yes. If you want my help, you will need to give me the means to work. If you do not, I cannot help you, nor will I, and you could do me the favor of killing me. I'm tired of living like this."

The old man definitely did not give ground, and as much as they wanted to snap his head off, knowing he was one of the men who made them into what they were, it was clear they needed to be at optimal efficiency if they were going to fight Goku.

"I'll go first," 18 said, stepping forward slightly. "I want to get this out of the way as soon as I can. Is that okay, 17?"

"Sure," he replied. "Doesn't bother me."

**X X X**

A few moments later, they were downstairs in the basement. Carefully, Dr. Flappe located a particular green book on a bookshelf in the back, opening it and pressing a button inside.

Immediately the bookshelf opened up, like a door, to an extravagant room, the equipment nearly rivaling Dr. Gero's, but without a doubt, won in the department of comfort and roominess.

"What is this place?" 17 wondered, glancing around at the large tubes, computers, and other assorted scientific equipment.

"When Dr. Gero first began converting you two into androids, his knowledge of near-human machines, or in this case cyborgs, was lacking in some of the most key areas. He brought you two to me... and within a weeks time on each of you, you were created."

"So you're saying you?-"

"Yes, that's partially true, 17. Dr. Gero created your models, and essentially gave you everything mechanical you had, but I was the one who had to create the engine that constantly replicated your energy. I... did the same thing for a very early product I created without Dr. Gero."

He wheeled himself over to the long slab that would become the operating table, flipping certain switches that brought the room back to life. The cobwebs were apparent, it had been over a year since he and Dr. Gero had entered, and even longer since General White and Murasaki stood by and watched Android 8's creation

"Alright then, Android 18, since you volunteered, go ahead and lie down on the operating table."

18 hesitated slightly, but she complied; what was this guy going to try and pull? 17 was right there, he would snap him in half if he tried anything funny.

The steel was freezing, and dirty, but she ignored it, yet made a note to take a bath to wash it out of her hair as soon as she was finished with this.

"What I'm going to do is very similar to any minor repairs to what one would do with a vehicle. Changing a tire, changing the oil, it is relatively the same idea, only much longer due to the delicacy of the parts," he turned to 17. "If you would please, so we can begin."

"Right."

With a strange instrument in his hand, Dr. Flappe turned it on as a light blue laser was placed over 18's eye, circling twice, then the other eye, and just like that, she was out.

17 effortlessly lifted the doctor up by the waist, even surprised himself at how weak and fragile his hips were; he could easily crush him, but knowing he had the key to fixing them only made his grip semi-tight.

**X X X**

"I just HAD to go to the bathroom! Damn it, where the hell am I?"

Raiza's eyes squinted as the burning wind of the snow pelted his face. Turning his back for just a few minutes to pee on a tree, and things looked completely different when he turned back.

After walking for well over an hour, he stopped under a small collection of trees. _Okay, think. You were on a mission when this thing happened. Yeah, I remember now. Me, Nappa, and my dad were looking for some kind of refinery the people were hiding._

"You know what? Why am I doing that?" he wondered. "I can just fly up and find it that way. Jesus, what's with me?"

A second later, he was glancing around where he was. As he expected, nothing looked like it did when he first took off. Mountains and tall trees littered the ground below him.

"Damn it! All this snow covered my tracks, and none of this stuff looks familiar!"

At the very least, he wasn't that cold. He decided to try and back track as best he could and find his way back to the village. Who knows, maybe he had already passed Dr. Flappe's home.

**X X X**

Almost three hours into the operation, 17 was astounded at how easily Dr. Flappe found his way to the core of the problem. He had to have been a man of profound intelligence, Dr. Gero wouldn't settle for anything less than the best.

_Tch, am I really complimenting this guy?_ he spat. _He's one of the guys that made me, just like that old man. Well, as much as I'd love to crush the life out of him once we're finished, I think I'll just let him live. He seems a lot more miserable that way._

"I need a new hose. 2.5cm, surge protected."

"And what do you expect me to do about it?"

Dr. Flappe turned to him, his eyes narrowed. "What do you think? Can I walk and get them? The hoses and accessories are behind you in the file cabinet. Just take me over there, I know what to look for."

"Tch, whatever, you cranky old fool."

17 awkwardly carried the doctor over to the giant cabinet. The old scientist opened the shelf second from the top and fumbled through the sizes, finally grabbing the hose he needed, plus one extra.

"You said you only needed one?" 17 asked.

"Yes, but I need this one for you."

"It's a different size."

"Indeed. Do you... wonder why you are stronger than Android 18?"

17 carried Dr. Flappe back to his unconscious sister as he began working back on her, attaching the hose around the appropriate components and wires. "I always thought the old man just gave me more power."

"Correction, he _allowed_ you more power. It was an experiment. You see, at first, we used a 2.5cm, because the generator that was producing the energy you both have could only be trafficked effectively this way. When a school puts their students through a fire drill, they always put them through single file lines, not rushing out the building in a commotion. You see, essentially, it is the same thing, and if we allowed too much power to escape without it being properly channeled, you would, well, you would explode. The power in these generators are very unstable, but easy to control if you channel the energy correctly."

"So I'm stronger because you used a larger hose gauge."

He nodded, keeping his attention on his work, double checking to make sure nothing was missed. "Each generator has an unlimited amount of power attainable. Technically, you and 18 are just as powerful as each other. We tested the larger gauge hose and it was a success, therefore we kept it. It is because of that you are that much stronger. If we were to use larger hoses to conduct the energy, you could become drastically stronger, however, it is too much of a risk to the operating system. Dr. Gero was worried if we went just half a centimeter higher, the generator would have overworked the entire system, and essentially destroy you. So, we settled with that."

_Hello? What's this?_

The doctor, making his final scans over the neural circuitry, noticed a plug that had been burnt out, charred almost.

"Seems 18 had a plug burn out. Let's see now... Ah, I see. Yes I recognize this model."

"What, what are you talking about?"

"It makes sense why he used it. Dr. Gero, you were brilliant, if not overly bent on controlling everything you created."

"Hey, old man! Tell me what you found or I'm going to drop your floppy little legs on the ground!"

"Dr. Gero, he used a VX-7 data plug. We call it a 'Ram Dam.'"

"Ram Dam?"

"Yes, you see, like computers, ram is what memory is. Although it is not a literal sense with automatons, it is what doctors use on machines to... forget certain things. I assume he used that same model on you."

"So that's how Dr. Gero made us forget who we were, huh? That's cute."

"All right, I'm done, you can let me down now."

17 complied, nearly dropping the doctor back into his wheelchair. He reached into his pocket and pulled a remote out, just like Dr. Gero had and pressed the button.

Immediately, 18's eyes opened. She lifted herself up, slowly, glancing around.

"That was... fast," she stated. Her head felt heavy, and she was a little dizzy, but all in all fine.

"Maybe not as fast as you think, sis. You were under for a few hours."

"I see. Then... it was a success?"

"Yes," Dr. Flappe cut in. "While I was operating I noticed a plug that had burnt out in your neural circuitry. A memory block. Is there anything you are remembering right now that you couldn't before you went under?"

18 took a moment, then shook her head. "No. Nothing really."

"I see. Maybe it takes time."

"Don't mean to rush you, wheels, but I think it's my turn now."

"Yes of course... go ahead and lie down then."

18 stepped off of the table and watched as 17 set himself down. After a few wires and hook ups, Dr. Flappe used the same circling device he used on 18, and the male android quickly found himself drifting off.

Yet before the operation began, Dr. Flappe knew something was up. Androids were very good at giving a cold and emotionless face, so if there was ever any, even the slightest trace, it would show instantly. And Dr. Flappe, definitely saw something.

"I know you remember something," he said. "But you did not want to tell me in front of your brother. Is that it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, and if I did remember anything, the last person I would tell would be one of the doctors responsible for putting me in this situation."

Before the doctor could say anything, the female android stomped out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

**X X X**

"What?" Piccolo's shock was apparent. "You mean they knew about the Senzu Beans?"

"I don't get it," Tien added on. "They know everything about us! Why didn't they just finish us off? They could have squashed us like bugs, but they didn't. They were just toying with us! This is all Vegeta's fault."

"Hey! Don't blame him!" Piccolo snapped. "We all underestimated their strength. Which _was_ a mistake, and we can't afford to make any more mistakes. The androids may not be so forgiving next time."

Finally, Vegeta couldn't stand to be around them any longer, or be anywhere for that matter. He just wanted to leave, and so he did. He quickly took to the air, rocketing away from them with only one thing in mind: get as far away as possible.

Trunks immediately started down after him, but before he could take off, Piccolo stopped him.

"Trunks, let him go. Stop."

He settled, glancing back at the namek, only just now realizing that Raditz was being distant with the group as well.

"Huh?"

"Leave him alone," he said. "Ever since Vegeta became a Super Saiyan, his ego has been out of control. Honestly I think what that android hurt the most today was his pride. He is very ashamed of his defeat."

"I know how he feels," Tien added on. "We worked so hard... but they were still stronger than all of us put together."

"That is _not_ true!" Raditz finally stepped in, the tailless saiyan making his way to the group before finally stopping. "I was stronger than both of them put together, and they knew it! Damn android... he knew _exactly_ where to play to me, and I fell for the trap."

"Hey, uh, Raditz," Krillin spoke up. "I'm just wondering but, where's Raiza?"

Immediately the group fell silent, especially between Piccolo and Raditz who saw it happen with their own eyes. But how exactly could you say it?

"It is not my place to say," Piccolo said. "If anyone should say anything, it should be his father."

"I can do it," he quickly replied. With a heavy sigh, he could already feel his voice rumbling to the point of breaking.

"He's dead."

The silence turned cold, as the look of shock, even on those who barely knew him was quickly branded to their minds. Raditz's son, Goku's nephew, Gohan's cousin... and another fighter they had. He was gone.

"It was my fault," he said, not even trying to hold back as his eyes burned from tearing. "I could have destroyed 17 with ease. But he... no, he knew what he was doing. It was my fault. Eventually, I couldn't even fight him. And in the end... my own son had to save me."

"You couldn't have known what would have happened, Raditz," Piccolo said. "No one blames you for-"

"If I cannot, then who will? Do you not believe _someone_ is responsible for my son dying? The android was going to kill ME, not him. That blast was aimed RIGHT at me, and I was saved, at _his_ cost!"

_That's insane... I never knew Raditz actually had the ability to care like that. He always seemed so strict and stern with Raiza when I saw them together. But seeing Raiza gone has really shaken him up._ Krillin thought.

"No, Raditz," he spoke up. "I'm sorry... I should have been fighting along side you guys. Even though I wasn't as strong as you guys were, I shouldn't have just sat back, but I was just too scared."

Piccolo grunted. It was annoying to him, but he paid no mind to it. "Don't sweat it. Trunks, Raditz, Raiza, _and_ Vegeta are all Super Saiyans and the androids still took them out of the fight. Even if you had joined us Krillin, we would not have won today."

"Ughh... Oh man! I wish Goku was here!"

"Hey, Trunks," Tien glanced. "You were able to take out Frieza single-handedly. You're one of the strongest people I've ever met. But those androids tossed you aside as though you were nothing. Goku is strong... but in all honesty, I don't see how he could be that much stronger than Trunks or Vegeta. And if that's the case... we're done for!"

"I don't get it," Trunks spoke up. "It's strange. These androids are much stronger than the ones I fought in my time."

Piccolo was just as surprised as everyone else was. "Wait, Trunks, what do you mean?"

"The androids I fought were stronger than me, but not _this_ much. The kind of new strength these androids have is off the charts!"

"Then we really are out of luck!" Tien said. "What should we do?"

"You guys go to Goku's and move him someplace safe. He'll be able to join you once he's well. It's obvious we're going to need everyone we can get to defeat these androids."

"Good idea! But, Piccolo," Krillin glanced at him. "What are you going to be doing, huh?"

Piccolo was uncomfortable with answering this question. Especially right now, when his back was against the wall. "I... don't know."

"Come on, I know you've come up with a plan. Why don't you just tell us what your scheme is? Come on, we're buddies now, aren't we?"

"Listen to me," he sternly spoke. "Stop asking questions! It's none of your concern!"

"This is something that I have to do ALONE!"

With a quick growl, Piccolo gathered a quick blast of energy and fired it down into the middle of the three fighters in front of him. He flew up above them as it exploded, flaring his energy up even higher.

"Piccolo, what do you think you're doing?" Krillin panicked.

"I'm leaving! And anyone who tries to follow me will be sorry! Just find Goku, and forget about me!" and just like that, Piccolo took off, out of their sights within seconds.

When Trunks looked ahead, he noticed another thing that was strange.

Raditz was gone.

"Hey, where did Raditz go?"

**X X X**

_**Knock Knock Knock**_

Chi-Chi quickly opened the door, surprised to find Raditz by himself.

"Raditz? What's wrong? Where is everyone else?"

"We need to move Kakarot. We couldn't stop the androids."

"What? But where is everybody? Where's Gohan?"

"Gohan should be okay. He wasn't in the fight with us, we had him take care of Bulma and that fat samurai."

As he stepped inside and followed her up to the room he was staying in, he finally found his brother, peacefully slumbering away on a mattress, the medicine close by on a small table.

"How is he?" he asked, kneeling down next to him.

"Sometimes he gets these really bad nightmares, and he tosses and turns, but most of the time he's just sleeping. He's been like this for a while."

"I see. We will need to move him somewhere safe, soon, once everyone else shows up."

"Where are we taking him?"

"I don't know. Anywhere but here is safe; the androids are no doubt on their way here."

"Raditz?"

He glanced at her. "What?"

"You're... cradling Goku's arm."

Immediately realizing this, he set the arm down, but still watched him.

"Are you feeling alright?"

Hell of a question, he thought. But she had no idea what was going on. But did he have the stomach to tell her what happened? He needed to eventually... better now while he was alone with her and not everyone else. Even though everyone already knew how badly this had damaged him.

"Raiza's dead. He's dead. One of the androids killed him."

Though whispered, the words were louder than thunder. The news took her by complete surprise, just as quickly as her grief began to set in. She didn't know him for very long, but he had made his mark on their family. After all, he was family, as well.

"It was my fault," Raditz continued. "I could have killed them both. But I was so full of myself... and I ended up paying for it in the end."

As if there wasn't enough grief going around. With Goku in this much pain, Chi-Chi was about to explode from sorrow, but this only made things worse for her.

"Kakarot," Raditz gripped the sides of the mattress, wanting nothing more than for his brother to wake up. "You're all I have left. Please... don't go. Don't go, Kakarot."

**X X X**

"Damn it! I can't see shit cause of all this snow!" _Forget this, I'm just gonna stay lost if I keep flying around. At least I could see something on the ground._

Finally landing, Raiza's boots went a little too far into the snow, causing him to fall back. He picked himself back up, groaning as he sloshed the snow off of his shoulders and everywhere else he landed, checking his surroundings while doing so.

"Ugh! All this trouble for some armor. Why am I even doing this?"

The wind howled even further, making the saiyan glad he kept his tail tucked under his coat. Saiyans were fairly hardy people, but this, this was a bit more than what he was used to. Heat he could deal with, and he had several times before when he worked with Frieza, but this type of cold just always didn't get along with him.

But as his hope started to fade, and he was within seconds of calling it quits, he saw something. Something that clearly stood out and wasn't part of the area.

_A pink van?_

The wind picked up, this time in another direction as the lengths of his hair flopped over his eyes. He pushed them out of the way as the van came into better view the closer he got. No doubt, a delivery van, at that.

_Maybe that's the place. Even if it isn't, maybe they can point me in the right direction._

As he drew closer, the front door opened, and a familiar face stomped outside while slamming the door shut behind her.

"Oh shit!" he almost yelled, jumping behind a tree. _What the hell? What's she doing here? Is this where they live?_

18 kicked the snow as hard as she could, sending a large chunk flying off into the horizon.

"That little bastard. After everything he's done, he has the nerve to-" she stopped as she heard a twig snap, not too far off.

"Who's there?" she quickly raised her hand, forming a small ball of energy.

The hand focused on a fairly large tree that wasn't all but a few yards away from her. But she just wanted to be sure. If it was an animal, she could deal with it. If it was some pervert trying to spy on her, she needed to blow the steam off and kill someone. "Well? I know you're back there!"

Finally giving in, Raiza stepped from the tree with his hands held up where she could see them. "Okay. You got me."

"You... I-"

"So what are you gonna do?" Raiza asked sternly. "If you fire at me now, you've got enough strength behind it, you could kill me. I can't transform quick enough, not with that little distance between us. So... what are you gonna do?"

Her hand lowered and the beam canceled out. And all she did was study him. He wasn't in any sort of fighting stance, and he wasn't tense at all. He was totally at ease right now.

"I thought you were dead."

"Yeah. I thought I was gonna die, too. But looks like I'm here," he looked behind her. "Who's house is this?"

"Dr. Flappe's."

"Great, then I can get my armor and get out of here. Unless you're planning on stopping me."

"I..."

"Well, what'd you do after your brother sent me off? You kill everyone else?" he asked, anger suddenly very apparent.

"No. When I showed up we left. No one was dead, not that I could tell."

"Tch, well at least you guys were _nice_ enough to do that, I guess."

Moments passed by, and neither said anything. Raiza kept his hands in his pockets, waiting to see if she was going to do anything. He almost wanted her to. After what had happened, he knew there was no hope. They were lost to whatever Dr. Gero had done to them, and they would never be the same. He had to, or someone, had to destroy them. He had to take her out first, though, 17 was too much for him and he needed to focus everything he had if he was going to stand up to him.

But he approached her, then slowly, passed her, surprised that she hadn't made a move yet. Maybe she really was going to just let him go.

"Raiza," she turned, his brows lifted in surprise. "What's my name?"

_You have got to be kidding me. There's no way..._ he wondered. "Android 18, isn't it?"

"No. When we were fighting... you called me Janelle. Is that my name?"

**X X X**

Piccolo flew closer to the lookout, shooting straight up, quickly passing Korin's tower like it was nothing.

_Uh oh,_ thought the cat. _There goes trouble._

A few moments later, Piccolo was at the top, landing as his cloak and turban reappeared back onto him.

The very first thing he was, was a very frightened Mr. Popo. Then again, he wasn't expecting a warm reception when he came back. It had been too long.

Then in a flash, Kami appeared right behind the short genie, their stares quickly exchanged.

_You have something I want, old man._ he telepathically messaged.

_You still have a lot to learn, Piccolo._

**End Chapter 17**

**Sorry this one took a bit longer to put up. Just got kinda busy/hit the writer's block. But here you go, hope you liked this chapter and if there were any questions or concerns about LAST chapter that I answered those. If I didn't, or, if you feel I may have missed something, go ahead and let me know. I take zero offense to it (granted you don't just straight up attack me. Act negative, get treated negative, ya dig?) and hopefully I can clear anything up.**

**I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, actually, when I got the right inspiration. One of my longer chapters, but eh, I couldn't really find a place to stop and split this chapter up, so lucky you guys, right? =P Anyway, leave some reviews, and I'll get started on the next chapter as soon as possible. -PD**


	18. Chapter 18

**I'm sure most of you know, but for those who do not, I wanted to quickly recap over Dr. Flappe. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease is a neurological illness. It effects the brain, which in turn, can completely affect your ability to walk, move, anything, and it's very real. Stephen Hawking has Lou Gehrig's, so for those of you who are familiar with him, you can see where an illness such as this can lead up to. I sort of did this on purpose, to build a reference. It can take time, but eventually it can completely paralyze your entire body and/or kill you. Okay, that's enough out of me. Enjoy.**

"You're kidding... right? This is just a really bad joke, it has to be," he said, gripping his hands so harshly that if he had nails, they'd pierce the skin. He glared at her, and she could feel his frustration, it almost attacked her with how hot it was.

"You know, I went by the orphanage. You know, the one you and your brother used to work at?"

18 just stared at him. What he said though, it was hazy, but she actually had an idea of what he meant, though she couldn't necessarily fill the blanks in.

"It was empty. Totally cleaned out, when about a year ago I was there and it was filled with kids, two teenage orphans and an old woman taking care of it all. But I guess... I see what happened."

"I don't," she started, glancing down as her eyes wandered the landscape. "I don't remember anything. I just now started remembering bits and pieces... after I woke up. But I do remember when I started thinking about these things."

_Flashback_

_17 smirked, then his face turning serious as he lunged straight towards Raditz, his sister right behind him._

_"It's about time," Raditz chuckled._

_18 swung a kick to Raditz's face, which he simply jumped back from. 17 swung once, ducked, swung again, and this time caught by Raditz. He clenched his grip on 17's fist as he rammed his knee up into his gut. Then again, and again, finally loosening his grip as he planted a kick into the android's stomach that sent him flying back._

_18 just watched as her brother shot back from her._

_"You shouldn't turn your back like that."_

_18 turned back quickly only to meet with Raditz's shin, pressing itself harshly into her head as it spun her around onto a nearby tree below, where she laid still._

_Her head started to spin, but she was securely locked between the two branches she crashed against. The last thing she could remember, before slipping into unconsciousness, was a mashing of incoherent conversations, all occurring at once._

_End Flashback_

"I was fighting your father. He hit me and I think that's what did it. Then when Dr. Flappe removed whatever it was, everything just came back at once. I can't even process everything right now, it's so much. Like a whole lifetime is just being shoved down your throat, and-"

"So you can stop, right?"

"What?" she wondered, not even sure what he meant.

"You can stop trying to kill my uncle. You remember everything, so you don't have to do this, right? You can just go back to normal?"

"There isn't anything normal about me. Not anymore..."

"Oh come on! Stop being dramatic about it!" he snapped. He really hated whenever people whined, and girls were the worst to him. "Your memory is coming back. You remember your name, what you used to do, doesn't that count for anything?"

"No! Don't you get it? My memory is back, but I'm still programmed. I'm still designed to kill Goku, that isn't something I can help. Even right now, everything in my system is labeling you as a threat to my mission."

"So what are you gonna do?" he asked, clearly not one for this sort of thing. "You still gonna fight me, even after all of this? You're not trying really hard to stop all this, just thought I'd point that out there for you."

The wind howled once more, and 18 did something Raiza wasn't expecting, nor did he have any time to react to it.

She hugged him, in a quick rush that ended in a tight embrace from the female android.

"Hey, what-"

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

He wasn't sure how to react, or what she even meant. She was so cold to the touch, but was that because of who she was now? No, it had to be the weather, because her cheek was firmly pressed against his chest, and it was almost as warm as wearing another coat.

_Ah, man, how the hell do I respond to this? I don't... geez this is awkward._

_**Remember, son, if you want to bed yourself a woman quick, the most important thing is to act like you care!**_

_My dad gives horrible advice._ he thought. _I'm not really into the whole machine thing. But she's still my friend... kind of. Well, enough to where I kind of care about what happens to her._

He slowly returned the hug, wrapping his arms around her back as he pulled her in tightly.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay." _I'm so bad at this. My dad's remedy was always "**Oh, boohoo, someone said you were a weakling and you didn't fight back? Oh, you did? And you lost? Well then get stronger and fight them again! And stop crying, you're going to damage your scouter if you get it wet!**"_

She didn't say anything, just quietly pelted his jacket with her warm breath while her grip around his back remained firm. Yet, to him, that was its own form of talking.

He did like how this felt. She was gentle and soft, for an android, anyway. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to really find any feelings for her. They floated around, and his instincts told him to go for it, but his mind told him she would never be the same. Being a machine, would she even be able to have kids?

_Ugh, man, what happens if we do it and... Oh man, bad image._

"I, uh... I'm not really used to this sort of thing," he bashfully stated.

"A hug?" she chuckled.

"No. Well, yeah, but, uh, you know," he sighed. The snow was beautiful now that the wind had finally subsided, and it looked so calm, watching small little dots of frozen water drop on them and all around them.

"I missed you guys," he added on. "It sucks, not knowing where people you care about are. I saw my father for less than two minutes, and then, I never heard from him for almost four years. I ran away from Frieza during a mission, killed his weak little team he sent with me, and I just... ran. I didn't know where anyone was, I didn't know where anything was. My mother died when I was a baby, so my father was all I really had. Never knowing what had happened to him was one of the hardest things to deal with, all up until he died, which I was so _fortunate_ to hear."

Her eyes quirked as she noticed something fall from his face.

Tears?

She looked up, and it was there. Slow, but steady, they fell from his eyes, freezing before they even touched the ground, joining the ranks of the froze, fallen water.

"I didn't really know you guys... not that well. But, I had this connection with you two, I couldn't really explain it. You and Andrew- 17, I mean. You were both orphans, living on your own doing things for others, living day to day. That's how it was with me... and then when you were just gone, it reminded me too much of what happened back then. It drove me insane. If you had died, I could have moved on, if you were alive and just moved, I could maybe drop by for a visit. But, when you don't know... you can't close a chapter."

Not even paying attention to her hands, Raiza failed to notice his friend's glance up at him, and her hands gently shifting to the back of his head, fingers sliding through his hair.

"You can still close it, you know," she said.

He gave her his attention, now noticing a small smile across her face. God she was beautiful, at least Dr. Gero didn't make her look like anything grotesque. Had to give him credit for that.

_Hey, stupid! You listening? She's a bot! She isn't Janelle, she's Android 18. They look the same but they're not!_

"You mean... the chapter?" he asked, locked in place with her eyes at this point. How did she know that massaging his head was the key to making him relax?

She chuckled, lifting her feet up onto her toes as her face was barely inches away from his. Funny enough, Raiza made no move whatsoever, but wasn't exactly pushing her away at this point. "Yeah. The chapter."

"Oh... right... okay."

_**SLAM!**_

18 quickly moved her head to Raiza's ear, avoiding the spittle and gasp for air that came from his mouth. She retracted her knee, holding him in place before whispering something into his ear.

Then, she dropped him in the snow, where he laid unconscious from the moment she let him go.

18 knocked on the back door of the van, then simply opened it without wanting to wait for 16 to lug himself over to open it himself.

"16. I need you to do me a favor."

"Yes?"

She waved for him to exit, and he followed her out before glancing at Raiza's body, quickly whitening from the snow that was falling onto him.

"I don't want 17 knowing he was here. He'll want to kill him."

"Yes. I agree. What would you like me to do?"

She was relieved, at least, that he was so eager to help. That or he just didn't care, but 16 seemed like the simple-type; not apathetic, but generally liked to keep to himself and mind his own business.

"Just put him over by those trees. We'll probably just drive off right after, so he won't see him if he's under some thick evergreens."

With a simple lift, 16 picked up the saiyan, and with a few giant steps, laid him down peacefully behind a massive evergreen with his back against the thick wood. From where the van was, you couldn't see him from that angle.

18 sighed. "This is for your own good. Just trust me on this."

"Mm?" 16 asked as he stepped by her. "Something wrong, 18?"

She shook her head, heading back towards the house as she realized she failed to help Dr. Flappe at all with fixing her brother. And here she was, talking about doing things for their own good.

"No... Nothing's wrong. I'm going to go back inside."

**X X X**

"_**I'm sorry. Maybe if things were different. But they won't be, and I can't change who I am now, even though I don't like it. Please don't make this harder than it already is, and whatever you do, please, don't come after me."**_

Several hours later, a stray cat leapt down from the height of the tree, the snow cushioning its fall as it glanced at its surroundings. Among them, an unconscious saiyan laid slumped against the trunk of the tree, his neck slanted down while snow slowly crept into the opening of his jacket.

"Meow."

The cat slowly crept up to the slouched body of Raiza, sniffing him before an uneasy groan filled the area.

"Achoo!" he sneezed. "Achoo! Ach- Damn it- Achoo!"

Finally opening his eyes, ignoring the pain in his neck from leaning incorrectly on it, he looked down to see a jet black cat staring back up at him.

"AHH!"

"MEOW!"

"AHH!"

"MEOW!"

"AHHHH!"

"MEOWWW!"

The cat quickly bolted away from the saiyan, who was still trying to figure out what was going on as silence filled... wherever he was.

_What happened?_ he thought, before a heavy pain overcame him in his neck, gripping it. "Jesus, what'd I do to my neck?"

_Wait a second!_

"_**You mean... the chapter?" he asked, locked in place with her eyes at this point. How did she know that massaging his head was the key to making him relax?**_

_**She chuckled, lifting her feet up onto her toes as her face was barely inches away from his. Funny enough, Raiza made no move whatsoever, but wasn't exactly pushing her away at this point. "Yeah. The chapter."**_

"_**Oh... right... okay."**_

"Man, what a cheap shot!" he angrily growled.

"_**I'm sorry. Maybe if things were different. But they won't be, and I can't change who I am now, even though I don't like it. Please don't make this harder than it already is, and whatever you do, please, don't come after me."**_

_Wait a second. I wasn't dreaming that, she really did say that to me._

He stood up, wiping off any snow he could take off his clothes that hadn't already soaked into his coat. He glanced around, turning behind the tree he was leaned against to find Dr. Flappe's home. Only this time, there was no pink van.

"I hate women."

Reaching the home rather quickly, he went for a knock at the door, only to be weary as the light knock pushed the door open.

The light was on, so he figured someone had to be home. He stepped inside, noting the creaking of the door to add onto the suspense factor; why did homes always get quieter and scarier once you stepped inside?

"Hello? Dr. Flappe? Is anyone home?"

Nothing could be heard as he stepped through the living room. Everything was neat, even a kettle was whistling it was ready in the kitchen nearby.

_This is weird. Where is he?_

"Dr. Flappe? My name's Raiza, my friend Suno said someone dropped off some armor?... It's actually my armor?"

The searching continued, nearly tripping over a fallen book, he glanced down to find the leading to a staircase.

_Might be down there._

Some careful steps and constantly checking behind and in front of himself finally led him down to a basement, where a bookshelf stood split in half. Inside, Raiza could hear the old moaning of another man, sending a harsh chill down his spine.

_What the HELL was that?_ he shuddered. _No way, man. I'm not getting eaten by some- wait a second, am I really scared of whatever is behind there? I've got to get it together... Phew... okay, if anything is waiting for me that wants to take a bite out of me, I'll grill him before he gets close. Let's do this._

"Is somebody there?"

_Oh shit! What the hell was that?_

Taking a few more steps, Raiza peeked his head over to see where the source of the noise had come from.

A man sat in a wheelchair. His arms were bound to the arms of the chair, unable to reach for the controls to make him move. Next to him were medical packs, slowing dripping in hydration and food necessary for survival. He was completely stiff, and completely alone.

"Dr. Flappe?" he asked.

"Eh? Who are you? Oh, it doesn't matter, could you untie me?"

"Uh... yeah, sure."

Much to his surprise, it was rope that was tied around the doctor's arms, but actual metal. Had it been anyone else, he didn't think they'd be able to break him free. Finally free, Raiza was surprised the doctor's arms didn't move, as they simply rested on the arms of the chair.

"Thank you. I had a... bit of a situation, to say the least."

"I see. Hey, listen, I'm friends with someone named Suno. She said she had a friend bring something here, I was just here to pick it up."

"Hm? Oh, right, that armor that Eighter brought me. If you don't mind, I could use a push."

"You can't-"

"Mm, no, I'm afraid not. You see, my encounter was a bit... vengeful, though in the end I cannot truly blame them for doing what they're doing. As you can tell, I'm paralyzed, but it was just from the waist down. Someone... sped up... the process, making it completely below my neck. Afterwards, they tied my hands down, and left me with the means to survive for as long as possible, and not die."

"Holy shit... Who was it? Were they androids?"

"Eh? Why, yes, they were. How do you-"

"It's a long story. My uncle, Kaka- I mean, _Goku_, he's being targeted by these androids, so me and a bunch of others are trying to stop them."

"Goku? My, that's a name I haven't heard in years. And you're his nephew? Yes, I can see a resemblance now. Unhook me if you will and push me up, I'll tell you where it is."

**X X X**

"Thanks for fixing this," Raiza said while slipping his gloves back on. "I didn't realize how abundant these synthetic materials were here on this planet."

"It was no trouble. I had the ability to use my hands back when I did that, luckily I was able to quickly make the appropriate fixes before I was visited by the androids."

"Dr. Flappe," Raiza turned, glancing at the withering man. He looked awful, age was definitely showing, and his body on the lower half was frail and weak; then again, not being able to walk will do that to you. "Why did they come here?"

"It's a... it's a long story. Now then, where do I start. Ah phooey, I'll keep it short, you're clearly in a hurry. Truth is, I deserve to be here, in this position I am in right now. God has finally had enough with my antics, I suppose."

"What are you talking about?"

"Dr. Gero created the androids you know as 17 and 18, but he was missing absolutely key features that made them as powerful as they were. He and I... collaborated."

He knew where this was going, and he was quickly losing his respect for the man in the chair. He couldn't have been serious, was he...

"You mean, you and Dr. Gero?-"

"Yes. It's because of me Dr. Gero was able to complete 17 and 18. At first, I refused, as I wanted nothing more to do with the Red Ribbon Army, but he assured me this was mere scientific research. Regardless, once we started, we couldn't stop; we were absolutely high on what we had begun together."

Raiza growled at his confession, taking a step forward with his fists clenched until the doctor stopped him.

"I'd be okay with that," he calmly stated.

"What?"

"I know what you're thinking. You too must hate the work Dr. Gero and I completed. Had I known these androids were going to be used to do harm, I would have never agreed to this. But I feel as though I have already paid for this, I actually envy Dr. Gero for being killed. Before you arrived, 17 used the natural energy within his generator to literally accelerate my illness. It's because of that now that I cannot even use my arms. I'm paralyzed from the neck down. You'd actually be doing me quite the favor."

He was serious? Well, he did recall not seeing him move at all, and it would make sense why he was hooked up with all those wires and bags. Incapable of being able to move, but kept alive for as long as possible...

_Andrew, what the hell did those guys do to you?_ though he agreed whole-heartily on retaliation for something so severe, what he had done was... worse. Far, far worse. Absolutely cynical.

"You know what?" he grunted, stepping once with his fist shaking in front of him. "I'm _not_ going to do anything to you. You don't deserve to get off that easily! But I'm not going to leave you like they did..."

"What the? What are you doing? Put me down!"

Without a second later, Dr. Flappe, wheelchair and all were picked up as Raiza effortlessly lifted them out of the door. With the door shut and secure, the saiyan quickly took flight as the terrified doctor didn't even realize where he was going.

**X X X**

"WHAT?" Suno shouted inside her home. "I had no idea! Oh my gosh, Dr. Flappe, if I had known I would have gone and tried to help you take care of the house."

"It's fine, dear. You do enough at your home anyway."

"But you can't do anything, that's the thing!" she pointed out before glancing at Raiza. "And what about you?"

"Huh?" he replied. "Oh. Well, I gotta go after them. You wouldn't believe it, but after you helped me out, I actually feel a lot stronger."

She chuckled. "No, I actually do believe it. All the memories I have of your uncle definitely explain anything and everything you did and are planning on doing."

"He must have been a pretty good person... wasn't he?"

"Huh? You okay?"

Raiza's face instantly perked up, veering away from a softer side of him he liked to keep reserved for a selected few. He liked this girl, but he didn't hand that sort of thing out to anyone. "Yeah, I'm good. I really need to get back to looking for them and- Ah crap, I forgot! My dad probably thinks I'm dead! I gotta find them and let them know I'm okay."

New armor, and new confidence, Raiza rushed outside, ignoring the freezing weather as his energy flared up, and he was gone.

"Heh. He really is related to Goku," she brightly stated as she shut the door to her home. "Okay, let's see what we can do with you, Dr. Flappe."

**X X X**

The clouds were surprisingly dark up on the lookout. But perhaps Kami was expecting this change in weather when his negative figure came before him. The wind chilled, blustering their robes, but they each shared a strain of pride and stubbornness. Piccolo knew what he wanted, and Kami knew as well, but wasn't sure if Piccolo was ready.

_I know Kami senses something wrong... why doesn't he say something?_

_Hmm... things must be more serious than I thought..._

"This isn't a social call, it's business," Piccolo stated, breaking the ice. "I think you know that."

"Yes I know," the guardian replied. "Of course I do. The bond we share is of the mind, as well as the body, remember? I know _exactly_ what's on your mind, Piccolo."

"Tch, good, that saves me some time," he spat.

Then Kami's face suddenly turned... grateful. "What an unexpected honor this is. I never thought that you and I would ever be united again!"

Piccolo's face cringed, he hated how hopeful he looked and how he just threw around the term like that. "Stop smiling! I'm not doing this because I want to. It's because I need our combined powers, that's all. To be honest, I'm not sure how I'm going to tolerate being so close to you; your mere presence sickens me."

The old guardian's allure quickly dropped, even he had a patience limit, and it was wearing very thin, very fast.

"Trust me, I'd have preferred it if I never had to look at you again," he finally finished.

_Piccolo's attitude angers me, but I can't blame him, he is a part of me. I have watched him fight one formidable enemy after another, and he has beaten the odds, every time._

His thoughts followed him back, to when he killed Raditz, to how he selflessly sacrificed himself to save Gohan from Nappa, fusing with Nail to take on Frieza, and fighting with him toe to toe.

"Perhaps my time as Guardian of Earth has come to an end..."

Mr. Popo wasn't too eager to hear this, Kami was not only his master but he's dearest friend. "No, Kami! You are still needed! The people of Earth still need you to watch over them!"

The old name turned to his friend with a smile on his face, but a look of business. "You are too kind, Mr. Popo. But I must act for the good of the earth. This is about the continuing struggle for power between the forces of good, and the forces of evil. And the danger that looms over us now poses a greater threat than anything we have faced in the past. Even Vegeta, with all his strength, was no match for the androids," he sighed, before continuing. "Even with Raditz brought back, and his son, as Super Saiyans, they were all tossed aside in the end by their cunning and strength. These androids will be difficult to beat, even if Goku recovers from his illness, he will provide powerful resistance against this powerful new foes. In our combined form, Piccolo may be the only one strong enough to win this fight."

_This is all Raditz's fault._ Piccolo thought as he watched Kami continue his lecture to the genie. _I know I said I wouldn't pass blame, but it's true, he could have ended the nightmare then and there, and I wouldn't even have to be here! Saiyan pride has brought nothing good in our time of need._

"We agreed," Piccolo cut in. "The force that threatens Earth is bigger than both of us. But at least when our powers are united, we still stand a chance. And no matter how slim that chance is, we _must_ take it."

"Hold on. I haven't agreed to anything, yet," his response shocked his counterpart, and he could tell as he turned to face him. "Listen, time may still be on our side. I would like to let things play out further before I make my decision."

"You want to see how things _play out_?" he snapped, gripping his fist. "Have you lost your MIND?"

"Silence! Sometimes things are not what they appear to be, Piccolo. And I am not entirely convinced that the aim of these androids is to destroy the earth."

"Ugh... is this a joke? You sat here and watched everything that's gone on below," his frustration grew further as he remembered 17 blasting Raiza away. "You even saw what happened to Raditz's son! Is that not enough proof that they are trying to destroy the planet?"

"What happened with the boy is not as what it appeared."

"What? What are you talking about, old man?"

"Raiza still lives. Though, he was nowhere near any of you, he is making his way back, even though he is still very far off from the rest of us. This proves my point, your rash nature is so eager to be displayed!"

Piccolo stopped for a moment. At the very least, at least no one had died, and Raiza was alive, though he wasn't sure where he was.

"It doesn't matter! Don't you remember what Trunks said? The androids destroyed the future, and they're going to destroy this time if we don't do something, and do it now!"

"Yes, I know, but Trunks made a mistake; these androids you fought today were not the same ones he fought in the future."

"Heheh, yeah, and these androids are a real great bunch of guys once you get to know them," he sarcastically remarked.

"I'm serious. I know you may not agree with me, but all I'm saying is I still need more time before I make up my mind."

"Have it your way! You're scared... I know."

Then he stepped away, turning his back to the guardian before crossing his legs into a sitting position. His arms then crossed and his eyes closed. "If you need time... then take it. I'll be waiting right here."

Both Kami and Mr. Popo were surprised at how well he was taking this, and how determined he was.

"Hm. You can take as long as you want, but remember, the clock is ticking."

**X X X**

Far away form the lookout, Krillin, Trunks, and Tien continued their flight towards Goku's house.

"Hey! Krillin!" Tien said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm going to go pick up Chiaotzu so we can get back to training."

"Sure. Sounds good."

"As soon as things get dicy again, we'll be there to help... although I'm not sure how much good we'll do."

"Okay, go get Chiaotzu and meet up with us later. We're gonna move Goku over to Master Roshi's house, that should buy us a little more time."

He nodded in acknowledgement. Krillin was actually a quick planner when he wanted to be, although he was sure the androids knew where Kame House was and would simply visit there once they found his home deserted.

"Be careful, and take care of Goku."

"We will," he replied as Tien drifted off from them, heading in an entirely different direction now.

"Good luck, Tien! We'll need it... that's for sure. Hope we're not too late."

Finally, Trunks leveled with him as they flew. "I don't know why the future I predicted changed so much. The androids I fought were not as powerful and there were only _two_ of them!"

"Yeah but, were Raditz and Raiza in your future, too?" he wondered.

"No. Not Raditz. In my future however, Raiza did make an appearance, he said he was looking for Goku... but he was killed shortly after he fought the androids. I only knew it was him because of how I found him after the fight. Yes we've gotten two strong fighters, but we also got FOUR androids, and two of them are substantially stronger than the others!"

"I see..." _Okay, change gears now._ "It doesn't matter now. If we don't get out of this mess soon, we're all gonna be history."

**X X X**

Back at Goku's house, things seemed as peaceful as ever, so nature would tell you. You would never be able to tell one of Earth's greatest defenders was holding onto his life by a thread if you gazed about the lush outdoors and chirping of birds.

Inside, Goku slept peacefully in the same bed as he always had. His wife, just as dedicated as ever remained with him at his side at all times. Yamcha sat not too far away, reading manuels on fighting combos and different techniques. As for Raditz, he remained with his back leaned against the wall next to his brother's bed.

"I think the worst is over, you guys," she said. "Don't you?"

"Yeah," Yamcha said first. "Let's hope so."

"Hey... whatever your name is," Raditz glanced over. "That medicine you gave my brother. Do you need to keep a constant dosage coming in? That tiny little capsule isn't going to last very long if you need to keep feeding it to him."

"It's Yamcha," his eyes narrowed. Raditz wasn't trying to kill them this time, but he was still not much better than Vegeta. "I'm not sure, actually. Trunks just said to give this to him when he gets sick. I figure if we give him a lot of it it'll speed up the-"

"IDIOT! You do NOT overdose with such powerful medication! You probably have a better chance of killing him if you just glob some down him whenever you feel like it!"

"Well what are we supposed to do, huh? Would you just sit there and watch him suffer like that?" he snapped.

"Boys, please," she spoke up. "It would help if you read the instructions. This medicine is actually homeopathic, almost 100% natural. Goku couldn't overdose on this if he tried, don't worry," she smiled. It was faked, and painful, but it was there.

"I see," his brother replied, firming his crossed arms back. "I wasn't making that up, however. As soon as Kakarot is well enough, we need to move him to a safer location. I can't fight those things if they show up again. Not unless I go back to that place... or if I could get my tail back... Hm."

**X X X**

Miles and miles away, a lone saiyan prince stood atop a long and narrow plateau, very similar to where they were fighting Dr. Gero.

Even with his wounds healed by the Senzu Bean, Vegeta still at times bled lightly from his wounds. His arm was still sore, but not in nearly the type of pain he felt earlier. And even that... that couldn't amount to the two biggest stabs into his pride he felt just hours ago.

He wiped the blood from his lip, keeping his fist clenched tightly as all of what just happened came rushing back to him.

What could be more insulting to the prince? That his new ascension was cut down so easily? By a machine that was not life? Or worse... his third-class partner, that low-level scoundrel...

_He's stronger than I am. No! No, I refuse to accept it! He's a weakling! I will never be underneath the boot of low-level trash!_

Without even realizing it, he had transformed, and the rocks around him began to float, even shoot off in different directions as he roared throughout the valley, destroying the plateau he stood upon and several others nearby.

_Wait till I get my hands on those androids! I will prove once and for all that I am the strongest warrior in the universe! And then, Raditz, and then, Kakarot! I will not be humiliated by third-class garbage such as them! It is my destiny!_

**End Chapter 18**

**Hey guys. Sorry this one took so long again... had to register for classes and take care of all that fun stuff. Anyway, hope you guys liked this one, and if there are any questions, please feel free to ask me and I will get back to you soon. Man, this is my favorite part of the saga, so much stuff is happening it makes for a real dynamic approach in writing. Okay, I think that's enough out of me. Please review, cya next time. -PD**

**Ps. I totally forgot it was Friday the 13th today. Huh. Careful guys, don't die on me!**


	19. Chapter 19

**You know what I'm gonna do.**

**Mrbrightside098: Very much agreed! Vegeta is crazy fun to write.**

**Ryo****-chan wolfgirl: True, Raiza comes off as kind of a pushover sometimes. Don't worry, he'll hit the point where he gets tired of it. I'm glad you asked that, about the pairing. I intentionally implied it, but, as you'll read throughout, it may sort of form into a tough choice for 18. Heck, she still may end up with Krillin. I may even let you guys decide that, I could write it either way and be happy with it. I know! I really feel Raditz can be this good-hearted father when he needs to be, while keeping that little seen character trait at the beginning of Z we all know. One of the reviewers actually pointed out Raditz is very open to interpretation, and I definitely agree with him/her. Vegeta still bugging you? Don't worry, he's STILL going to! I know, I bet you can't wait. =)**

Was it always this cold this time of year? And in such a lush area such as this? It was just the wind, it had to be.

Tao didn't let the weather bother him as his robotic hand slowly moved over the arch of the cold tombstone. Even being as mechanical and cynical as he was, there was always a piece of him he would never be able to get rid of, and he hated it as much as he loved that it kept him human.

"Those stupid New England Patriots beat the Denver Broncos today," he said to the tombstone. "I never cared for such a useless game like football, but I've never been able to see things different since you talked about them so much. That fool Tom Brady is paid almost as much as I am, and he's far more useless. But... you already know that."

As expected, nothing was returned to him, just the low whistling of the wind and lonesome leaves wondering across the enormous graveyard he stood in.

He knelt to the grave, leaving flowers at the foot of it. His days off from assignments were short, and he always spent them training, saving his money, and this, the most time consuming hobby.

His wife's grave.

"Perhaps it is better you did not see the man I have become. Or maybe you have, and my presence only harms you in the afterlife. I have a client who is collecting Dragon Balls, much like the Red Ribbon Army was. He is just another mafioso with too much money to spend, using me for protection and retrieval."

The way he carried his conversation would fool anyone into thinking the stone would talk back, or that there was someone there with him. The fact that no one saw him like this except one dead love made this other side to him completely unknown, perhaps to even his own children.

"Today would have been 43 years," he forcibly smirked, touching the face of the tombstone as he stood, walking away from the lone graveyard. He did this, ever year, birthday, Mother's Day, and Valentine's Day for over twenty years, and he planned to carry out this tradition until he finally joined her himself. Though he knew at this point, down south was the only destination for him.

_Satsuki. I hope you never get see what I have done._

**X X X**

Trunks and Krillin continued their flight through the sky. It was new for the future fighter, he really hadn't seen land this fertile and unharmed since... well, ever. It may have been boring and repetetive, but it was alive, which was something he could say his time paled in comparison to.

"Follow me!" Krillin called. "We're close to Goku's house."

They descended, passing over farms and rural houses, much like the ones Goku resided in. Too small to be a community, but big enough to say you at least have neighbors.

Seconds later, they dropped down in front of Goku's home and made their approach to the door when Krillin stopped in his tracks.

"H-Hold it. Trunks? Just one question."

Still stepping ahead of him, he paused and turned his head to acknowledge him. "Huh?"

He knew this question was going to sound bad either way he asked it, but he figured he should at least try. What was the harm in asking?

"Uh, the Androids... Are they uh... _really_ as terrible as you say they are?"

Trunks' eyes narrowed as quickly as the words entered his mind. "They're ruthless, and cold-blooded! I've told you that before, Krillin. Why even ask?"

The monk looked to the ground in shame for asking, but not enough shame to keep the thoughts away from him. "Uh hey I was just hoping we wouldn't all have to fight! Really! That's all, man!" he finished, waving his hands frantically in front of him.

"Well, hoping doesn't get us anywhere, I'm afraid," he bluntly stated.

"I know that! It's just that I... well... oh, never mind," ending with the flashback of 18 kissing him, he shrugged it off his shoulders as he knocked on the door.

What he wasn't expecting, was Chi-Chi in high spirits, slamming the door wide open with eager anticipation.

"GOHAN!" she beamed, not realizing she slammed the door on Krillin's head. "Oh, it's you, Krillin."

"Nice to see you too, Chi-Chi," he groaned, rubbing his not so smooth head at this point. "That hurt," he finished, glancing at Trunks. "Well? Say hello."

"Oh! Hello there," he quickly bowed.

A second later, their eyes quickly fixed on Raditz who had followed his in-law downstairs.

"Did you two get lost?" he asked.

"Nice to see you too, hairy," Krillin replied. "Is Goku okay?"

He nodded. "Yes, Kakarot is fine. He's been sleeping ever since I showed up. That fool is upstairs watching him right now."

"Well we have some bad news. We have to evacuate this place and take Goku to Master Roshi's house right away."

"Good. For once you talk some sense, baldy," Raditz smirked before glancing at Chi-Chi. "Flying him ourselves wouldn't be very wise, especially if he's marked for execution. Do you have a ship, a pod, or something that we could use to fly him safely?"

"No... wait, now that I think about it..."

**X X X**

Within minutes, a large yellow cargo plane was sitting outside, its backside opened wide enough to fit a truck in as Trunks stepped in first with the mattress and other bed items, Krillin and Raditz carefully carried Goku shortly behind him while Yamcha began prepping the controls.

"Be careful with him!" Chi-Chi warned while carrying a large blue sack of assorted items, most likely food.

"Ugh! Kakarot, how much weight have you gained?" Raditz whined.

"Give him a break. He hasn't been himself lately," Krillin replied.

The two fighters set Goku back on the mattress, his head on the pillow and Trunks quickly covering him with the comforter he was carrying.

"Hey Yamcha," Krillin started. "Where's Gohan?"

"He should be getting home anytime now," he replied, standing up from the cockpit.

"Look! Gohan's back!" his mother beamed as a small bright light descended upon them.

Gohan finally saw his home in view, glancing down at the large yellow aircraft and the small collection of people. A second later, he was on the ground.

"Hey! What's going on?"

But before he could get an answer, he was quickly swallowed up by his mother's embrace. "You've come home! Oh, my baby! I'm so happy to see you!"

"Uhh- Hey! What are you guys doing?"

"No time to talk. On the plane, Gohan!" Krillin motioned.

**X X X**

"Look at it this way, Gohan: Finding Goku is just a game to these androids. And until they destroy him, the game's not over."

"Are they really that powerful, Krillin?" Gohan wondered.

"Tch, not even," Raditz mumbled. "If I had my tail there wouldn't even be a problem..."

"Afraid so, bro," he replied. "They're even more powerful than the androids Trunks told us about."

"But I thought those _were_ the androids Trunks told us about?" Yamcha asked in the front.

"No... they're different somehow," the future fighter replied.

Out of nowhere, Chi-Chi let out a loud shriek, getting everyone's attention as she rushed towards one of the bags that was tucked away in the corner of the ship.

"Oh no! What in the world was I thinking?" she said to herself. "We don't have a minute to waste! We've got to hurry, before it's too late!"

"What are you talking about?" Gohan asked as he crept over to his mother.

And as expected, a large stack of books was slammed onto the ground in front of him, a pencil rolling off of the top as his mother knelt down with her arms crossed around.

"Well let's hit those books, Gohan," she stared.

"Uh! I can't study now!" he begged.

"Don't you dare talk back to me, now go to it!"

Krillin and Raditz just watched as the son of the greatest defender of Earth was cut down to size by his own mother. "Man, Gohan," Krillin said. "And I thought _I_ had it rough."

"Why do you make him study so much?" Raditz asked. "How will studying physics help us to defeat the androids? Or learning a new language? Useless at a time like this!" he spat.

"It's none of your business what I do with my son!" she snapped back. "Do _I_ tell you what to do with your-"

She quickly stopped, clamping her mouth shut as she realized what she was about to say, but it was too late.

"I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like-"

"Just forget it," her in-law quietly replied.

"Hey, what do we do now?" Yamcha asked.

"Beats me, Yamcha," Krillin replied. "I'm all out of ideas."

Trunks looked up to him, something formulating in his thoughts as he spoke. "Well, maybe there's something I can do to help."

The others turned to look, even Gohan, but was quickly corrected by his mother who turned his head back to his studies.

"I could travel to the past in my time machine and destroy the androids before Dr. Gero has a chance to activate them. It shouldn't be that hard since I know where his laboratory is."

"Hey yeah, that's a great idea!" Yamcha said.

Krillin didn't seem too convinced, however. "Hold on. I don't think I like the idea of you going after the androids by yourself. No... what if something goes wrong? Besides, didn't you say your time capsule only had enough energy to make one more trip? I mean how would you make it back home? You could be trapped in the past forever!"

"Maybe..."

Gohan poked his head back again, curious how Trunks would answer his question. "Hey! If you go back to the past and destroy the androids before Dr. Gero wakes them up, what happens to the androids that are here in this time?"

Trunks hadn't thought about that. Gohan seemed like he was onto something.

"They wouldn't just vanish, would they? The past makes _them_ vanish, but what happens to the-oomf!"

"Gohan that's none of your business, you mind your studies," his mother cut in, turning his head back to the books.

"No! He's right! What was I thinking?" Trunks blurted out. "If I go back in time and destroy the androids, I can only save the future of _that_ world. But I can't change anything once they've been activated, which means there's really no point in me going back."

"... Can you try that in English?" Krillin asked, obviously not picking up what Trunks was saying.

"Uh... alright... let's see. You know how Goku is alive now because of the medicine that I brought back from the future? Well, in the future world that the medicine came from, Goku didn't make it. That's because I can only change one reality, not both. In other words, there are two realities out there. In one of them, Goku survives. In the other... well... let's just say he wasn't so lucky."

Krillin was still not sure exactly how he was going to get this, but he was going for round two. "Let me try to understand this," he started as the plane flew far over an elder man and his granddaughter who were fishing. "You're saying that, even if Goku beats the androids in _our_ world, they'd still be alive in your world in the future. Boy that sounds like some kind of parallel universe or something."

"Exactly!" Trunks added on.

"So then, why did you bother to come back in the first place, Trunks?" Yamcha asked. "You just said you couldn't change anything..."

Trunks stood up, glancing out of the large window of the plane and into the horizon. "My mother... You see, it was my mother's idea to send me back to the past. She didn't think there was anything more we could _do_ to help the people of our world..."

His mind traced back to before he left for the past. His mother, in his time, old, signs of age apparent, but strong and hardened to the situation they all lived in.

"But she knew there were others we _could_ help..."

"_Maybe we can't change what the androids have done in this world, Trunks, but I think I know of a way we could make a better world. A peaceful world, free of the androids forever."_

"I agreed with my mother I should travel back in time, but I had my own reasons for wanting to go. I hoped that in the past with Goku's help, I would find the androids had _some_ weakness. That way I could go back to the future, and even though I _still_ wouldn't be able to bring back those already gone, I might be able to save the people who are left..."

The door to his mother's lab opened, and the vision of 17 unholstering his pistol and aiming right down to them and firing brought him back to reality, on top of Krillin calling his name over and over.

"Trunks! Are you okay, man?"

"... Ah, sorry about that. Anyway, I thought this whole plan would work out perfectly, except that I didn't count on there would be such major differences between the timeline of my world and this world. I thought Goku's heart problems would come much earlier than they did. And I thought there would only be _two_ androids, but instead there's three."

His eyes squinted and his fists clenched. "And now everything's going wrong!"

"But," Gohan cut in once again from his studies. "There's still something that bugs me. How could you have miscalculated so-mfhgofmgh!"

"I don't know..." he replied. "I wish I did. I guess something changes when you travel back from the future..."

"Try not to worry, Trunks," Chi-Chi calmly spoke, catching his attention as she sat on Goku's bed side. "If you hadn't come when you did, Goku wouldn't be alive right now. And that's all that really matters."

"Maybe for you," Raditz harshly spoke, his voice apparent with anger and hurt still. "Some of us aren't so lucky."

"Hey, come on Raditz," Krillin cut in. "When this is all over we can wish Raiza back with the Dragon Balls."

"It might be better if we wished him back as soon as we can," Trunks added on. "We're going to need everyone we can to fight them. And if something happens to Piccolo... then we'll lose any chance all together."

"I like that idea better. I've actually been down the road of death. There is nothing good about it, and I know if my son died, he wouldn't be judged in a good light. He has a history and a record, just like me."

**X X X**

"Man, I am so freaking lost," Raiza grumbled in the air as he looked around. Everything looked the same to him, and he had been flying for hours it felt like. At the very least, it wasn't cold any longer and he could feel his fingers and toes. He decided if he kept going the way he did, he would end up back in Jingle Village, so, he took a different route this time.

_I can sense some power levels this way. Damn it's far, though._

Glancing down at the ground, a small town came into view, decently populated, but all of the cars weren't moving. It couldn't have been more than two or three thousand people living there.

He set down and studied the environment. He could hear a soap opera playing through a TV that was turned way up.

_What! What the...?_

Clothes? They were laid out so perfectly, and why so many? Shirts of all sizes, pants, even socks and shoes. It went all the way down to any watches, sunglasses, cell phones, anything and everything someone would normally own was right there, for anyone to take.

A chill slithered up his spine, something was not right about this town. _These people didn't just get up and decide to take all their clothes off... _he checked the door to the sedan closest to him. Locked. _He left his clothes inside, had the door locked... and left?_

Then his eyes shot open at the realization that there was glass inside the car, scattered across the dashboard and seat of the car. It was all inside, so he knew that whatever broke it, it had to have come from the outside.

A rustling behind him got his attention. Tense from the moment he stepped down, his eyes wandered everywhere he heard the noise, even venturing far off of where its general direction was.

"Wh-Who's there? Come out!... Did you do this?"

Nothing.

His fear turned to anger, only to welt down into suspense as another rustling was heard close by.

Panicking, Raiza turned to the sound and fired a small blast of energy, vaporizing a large portion of the bush he blind fired at. Afterwards, the noise stopped.

"You know I... don't think I want to check what I just shot," _But whatever happened here is weird. I don't get this. Wait a second! That place, where Dad went to train, that's where the Guardian of Earth is. Maybe I should go there and ask him?... Damn it, but I don't know where anything is. I just need to find someone, this can't be normal._

As the young saiyan flew away from the eerie crime scene, a low moaning of pain could be heard from around the corner of the building next to the now destroyed bush. Seconds later, a pained groan escaped into the air as a pulsing and slush sound of liquid and solids could be heard.

And from the corner, he watched as Raiza flew away.

_Hmm... What's HE doing here...?_

**X X X**

After easily dealing with a group of bikers, and some southern sheriffs that attempted to arrest them, the ever-so-signature pink delivery van trekked onward on the snowy highways with a certain group of androids inside.

"I'm enjoying the scenery, 17," his sister said. "But, one question: Where is Goku?"

"Relax, 18, we'll be there before you know it," he replied, this time keeping his eyes fully focused on the road.

"That's no answer," she snapped back. "Admit it, you have _no_ idea where we're going."

"Goku's house is in a mountain village, East District 439," the large android spoke up.

"Wow, I'm impressed," 17 congratulated. "Did Dr. Gero tell you that?"

"He did," 16 replied, turning to 17 with a small smile across his face. "We will get there faster if we fly."

18 turned back, glad to have someone else on her side. "You're right. That's what I've been saying! It makes no sense for us to drive. What a complete waste of time," she spoke, her stuck-up features were always the most obvious just by the way she talked.

"Chill out, 18," 17 responded. "It's not a waste of time if we're having fun."

"Ugh, _you're_ the only one who is having fun. You're such a brat sometimes, Andr-"

"What did you call me?" he sharply stared at her, his gaze threatening even to her.

"Nothing," she replied, covering up as best she could. "I guess this is fine, for now."

**X X X**

"Well, looks like he's resting again," said Krillin as the others surrounded Goku. Another nightmare came at him, this one even more vivid than the last.

"How intense. He still fights, even in his sleep," Trunks pointed out.

"Yeah. You're right, but then again, that's Goku for you," Krillin added on.

**X X X**

The area he had destroyed was in ruins. Very few plateaus stood, if they could even be called such terms now. The rain pelted Vegeta's face as his shut eyes faced the sky. All he could think, were the voices in his head. Taunting him, laughing at him, insulting his pride.

"_Tell me, Vegeta, what is it like to feel this kind of pain?"_

"_They'll be cleaning you up off the highway."_

"_Why do you think someone as powerful as Vegeta fell so quickly, when I who wields one can keep you both at bay without even trying? It's true, for as long as I can remember, Vegeta was much stronger than I was. But that all changed when he lost his tail."_

_"That's incredible," Tien added on. "That's such an insane amount of power; he's even stronger than Vegeta!"_

"_How sad, to work so hard, for so little."_

"_How sad, to work so hard, for so little."_

"_So hard, for so little."_

"_So little."_

"_They'll be cleaning you off the highway."_

"_You two are a couple of slugs! Hahah!"_

He couldn't take it, the voices, laughing, mocking him. They thought they were better, they were wrong. In a furious roar, he immediately transformed, raising the gravel from the ground and stopping the rain in its entirety. The clouds above him opened in a perfect circular fashion, as if the heavens above wanted to hear him, wanted to hear his pain.

Out of breath, he finally stopped, gazing at the sky as the humidity took its toll on his skin. But the sweat and the stench did not compare in the slightest to the biggest gape in his life.

"N-No! The Super Saiyans of legend were an invincible warrior race!" he declared. "I am their son! And at long last, I have risen to claim my birthright. I have stepped into the ranks of greatness... All my life I have worked towards this goal, and for what? To be brushed aside as easily as a common house fly by an ANDROID?" he heaved, ignoring the throbbing in his head and how fast his heart was beating.

"Kakarot... Raditz, _and_ his son! No. There has to be an explanation for this! But wait, a true Super Saiyan would not have fallen," this answer just had to be it. How else could he be stronger than his rival, but pale in comparison to his third-class partner and his son? It was so simple! Why didn't he think of it? There had to have been something missing... he just knew there was. "Maybe I'm not who I think I am..." he sighed. "Perhaps there are new plateaus for me to reach, far greater heights to which I _must_ ascend?"

That did it. Inspiration was back, and better than ever. "Yes!" he yelled. "I will ascend! The universe will marvel to see the ultimate saiyan potential once again realized! And I will be..." oh the thought wetted his appetite, just the sound of it. "... legendary. And then, once I put those two fools in their place, Kakarot, then I will see you bow before your prince."

**X X X**

"It looks like we'll be at Master Roshi's island in no time," Yamcha said. "Oh and Krillin, don't you think we better tell Bulma what we're up to?"

"Good idea," he replied with a nod. "Wait, are you saying that I should call her? No way!"

"Come on, Krillin, I'm flying the plane here!" the bandit cooly replied.

"How about we have Raditz do it?"

"How about you try and make me do it, tiny man?" he glared.

"Ugh... allllright," he groaned, stepping past Trunks as he picked the phone off the line. "No offense, man, but your mom is hard to deal with sometimes," to which was met with a simple chuckle of understanding. "Believe me, I know what you mean," he replied.

_0...0...8? There we go, that should be it._

"Capsule Corp.," the voice said.

"Oh. Hello," Krillin replied. "This is Krillin speaking, I was wondering if I could speak to Bulma."

"Bulma? Yes! Please wait while I transfer your call."

Just seconds after the soothing melody of the xylophone came on for the waiting tone, Bulma's voice came in, taking everyone by surprise.

"Krillin what's wrong is everyone alright talk to me!" she spouted all at once. "I've been so worried! Where are you calling from? I tried calling Gohan at his house, but there's no answer. It just rings and rings! By the way, is my son there? I mean Trunks. You know, the one from the future?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah, he's sitting right behind me," he said, glancing back at him.

"He is? Well then put him on the line!" she beamed, eager to speak with her future son.

"He can hear you on the speaker, so go ahead and say what you need to say, Bulma."

"Well tell him we received this call today from a guy in the country side, somewhere to the west of here," she started, taking a seat before continuing. "He claims he found some sort of old abandoned vehicle and wants to keep it. But he doesn't know how to fly the thing, so he phoned us and asked us if we knew."

"Yeah... go... on..." Krillin tried to follow. Big dumps of information all at once never could be retained for him, sad to say.

"He tried to explain what kind of vehicle it was, but he didn't make any sense. What we didn't know for sure is if it was one of _our_ products or not. But he _swore_ to me it had _Capsule Corporation_ written right across it. So we asked him to send us a picture of it... I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it! It was a picture of the time machine Trunks came in. And I've got some bad news for you: it was a wreck."

Trunks' face widened in shock as he processed the information he was receiving. "Huh? But... But, that can't be true!" it couldn't be, he was fishing through his jacket pocket to be sure. And just where he left it, the machine was back in its capsule. "I put it up. I put it back in its capsule when I landed!"

"He says the time machine's right here," Krillin relayed.

"Seriously? But then..." she was really stumped. "Well the time capsule in the picture... it's the same, but I guess it looks like it's been sitting there for a while. It's almost completely overgrown with moss and stuff. So exactly how many time machines did we make in the future?"

"H-How many? Well we _barely_ managed to make one."

"What? That's strange... I'm sure that this is a time machine in the picture. I wanna make sure. Hang on I'll just send you a copy of the photo through the fax. Trunks, I want you to take a good look at it."

Just seconds later, a bleep went off in front of Krillin as the fax machine came to life, and the photo came through. Krillin handed it to Trunks, and after a brief moment of examining it, Trunks couldn't believe his eyes.

"That's my capsule," he started. "There's no mistaking it, guys, that's the one I came back in. Wait a second... what's going on here?"

**End Chapter 19**

**Hey you guys, very sorry about how long it took. I just started class this week. Not a very good excuse, but hey, we've all been there. I'm a bit more settled in, so this shouldn't happen too often in the future.**

**I think I made a good enough hint on who the person was, if the deserted clothes weren't a dead enough give away. Actually played fairly well, since the discovery of the far-future time machine was just found out about when I decided to bring Cell in.**

**I wasn't too sure about bringing Tao in for this chapter, maybe off and on he'll make small appearances, not sure how I can write it in without disrupting anything. Who knows? And yeah, the thing about the Patriots and the Broncos is true... I sort of made Tao hate that team, mostly because I don't like New England. (No offense to any Patriot fans out there!) And because they really did lose... badly. 10-45, oh Tebow, why? =(**

**Anyway, enough Football angst. I've started on the next chapter, so I will get that to you guys pretty soon. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and don't worry, things will begin to pick up once again in the next few chapters. Remember, we ARE doing a re-write! -PD**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey guys, sorry I haven't been in for a while, been pretty busy with school and stuff. Anyway, here's your next chapter. Btw, big thanks to Nikon Sam for all the reviews, and of course everyone who has and hopefully who continue to do so. Time for the big bad 20.**

**I want to try and keep the chapters coming more often now (almost 4 months... yikes, sorry guys, seriously), but with the way things have been going in my life right now I cannot guarantee it. But, what I _can_ guarantee is that I'll try 100% to get these quicker this time around!**

"_This is utterly revolting!" a mortified Zarbon exclaimed. "That THING thought it could wear my headpiece like some sort of belt."_

_Raditz and a younger Raiza, not younger than seven years old knelt before Frieza and his loyal henchmen._

"_Lord Frieza," Raditz spoke up. "My son means no harm. He is just a boy; as it was, I did not even know he had been getting into any mischief until now."_

"_Yes, I see," Frieza replied, surprisingly relaxed at the situation. "But your little ball of joy did upset one of my top lieutenants. If he's under stress and cannot focus, then I cannot focus. You can see why this could become problematic."_

"_Of course," he sternly replied. "I will see to it myself he keeps out of-"_

"_Why do you wear that thing on your head, anyway?" a cheeky Raiza asked Zarbon. "It looks like a big fancy belt! Why would you wear a belt on your head? Or is it a crown? You're really weird, Mr. Zarbon!"_

_Raditz's eyes lit up with anger for his son, layered with a sense of fear that Frieza would punish his son before the day was over._

_Yet to his surprise, he heard chuckling. From both Frieza and Dodoria._

"_Wh-What is so funny?" Zarbon scowled, ignoring Frieza and glaring directly at Dodoria. "Do you find something amusing about this?"_

"_Hahaha, come on, Zarbon, you DO dress a little too flashy for your own good. Must be getting pretty bad when a little kid calls you out on it."_

"_You! Do not show such disdain for my attire; at least I have the MEANS to choose what I want to wear. How someone as obese as you is as powerful as you are is a mystery to me!"_

"_Ah, put a lid on it, princess," Dodoria chuckled, crossing his arms as he glanced down at a confused father and son._

"_Lord Frieza! Are you going to do nothing?"_

"_Please, Zarbon, the boy meant no harm," Frieza waved off. "Perhaps it is I who should be punishing you for leaving your guard down enough for a simple child to rob you of your lavish accessories. What's next, will you leave yourself open to an enemy attack when you cannot even keep an eye on your own accessories?"_

_Finally, Raditz's military face couldn't hold anymore, the situation was too much for him. His small chuckle built and built until he was laughing hysterically and monstrously at Zarbon's tantrum._

_That was the last straw. No monkey would laugh at him. And all because of that little brat. He would show him what happens when he crosses someone as powerful as he._

"_You little whelp, I'll teach you!"_

_His hand came up, and with a harsh slap, it met with rough and calloused skin, and hate-filled eyes glaring the sharpest blades in his direction. The laughing third-class Raditz surprised him by blocking that slap aimed towards his son._

"_I don't care what rank you are, or WHAT you are to Frieza," he grunted, barely holding his hand back with his arm. "Never, EVER, raise YOUR hand to MY boy."_

"_How precious," he smirked. "One monkey protecting another, although it is usually the mother who does that. Then again..."_

"_Choose your words. Carefully," he growled._

"_Or what? You actually harbored feelings for that whore? Enough to try to stand up to me? Don't be silly, I could crush you without any effort WHATSOEVER!"_

_The changeling gasped as his arms were gripped from behind, pinned to the sturdy chest of another man._

"_You get your kicks out of hitting kids now, Zarbon?" the voice rang into his ear._

"_Nappa," he growled; of course it would be another saiyan. "I suggest you let go; this fight isn't yours and you know I could easily end your miserable life in mere seconds."_

"_Heh, if you'd like to try and take us all on, be my guest."_

_His eyes faced forward again, this time facing the open-palm of another saiyan. His arrogant smirk and racial pride beamed over his spiky hair ever so brightly at the predicament he was in._

"_The room's filling up awfully fast, don't you think?" Dodoria asked his superior._

"_Indeed," Frieza smirked. "But it is entertaining to say the least."_

"_Vegeta," he grunted. Definitely the person he wanted to see the least right now._

"_Hello there, Zarbon," the prince smirked. "I'm here to issue you a piece of advice: you see, soldiers like Raditz, Nappa and myself are strong and able-bodied men. We know right from wrong, and the last thing we would do is touch one of your "ever so precious" ornaments you treasure so dearly. But Raiza is still a child. He is the lineage to our great race. And as the prince of that race, I tend to be SOMEWHAT protective of our next of kin, ESPECIALLY when a flamboyant changeling attempts to slap the head right off of his shoulders!"_

"_L-Lord Frieza," Zarbon growled. He could transform right now and destroy them, no problem, in fact, he wouldn't even need to; alone in his base form, he was far superior to them. He just needed to hear it from his leader._

"_That's enough, boys," Frieza smirked. "You've made your point, Vegeta. Raditz: be sure to keep your __boy out of trouble. Next time they may not take it to me, they may take it upon themselves. In fact, I'd much rather that happen than have to play moderator. It is quite bothersome when I have work that I am slowly getting more and more behind on from this little event."_

_Vegeta nodded his head, causing Nappa to release Zarbon as he stepped away from him. Raditz still kept himself hunched over his son, he wouldn't get off of him until they left that room and he knew Zarbon was out of reach; he would without a doubt have to get someone to watch him whenever he was away._

_Yet Raiza shrugged himself free, quickly rushing in front of Frieza's pod as he stood in front of the lizard and his pink lieutenant._

"_I'm sorry, Lord Frieza!" he stated. "I'm just really bored because I can't go on a mission yet like my dad and the others. Please don't be mad!"_

_Much to their surprise, the ice-jin let a low chuckle escape as a smirk formed on his lips. "My dear Raiza," he grinned as he glanced to Vegeta. "Just like a typical saiyan; you just haven't learned how to control your passion."_

"Ah!" Raditz shot awake, startling everyone in the ship as all eyes gazed on him for a brief moment.

"Hey, man, you okay?" Krillin asked, with good reason; Raditz was layered in cold sweat.

"I'm... fine. It was just a dream," he glanced around. "Where did Trunks and Gohan go?"

"They went to find that ship Bulma was telling them about. They left a couple of minutes ago, but I have no idea where they-hey wait a second!"

Before Krillin could finish, Raditz had opened the loading door, causing the wind to violently enter the ears of all those inside, the wind without a doubt causing a disturbance.

"Hey! Are you crazy? Shut the door!" Yamcha shouted from the front.

"I'm not sitting around in this ship, running away from a couple of androids while my son lies dead!" he snarled.

"This is why the androids killed us all off in Trunks' time! Don't you get it?" Krillin yelled. "We were never together. We were all divided, and we never stood a chance. If you leave and the androids find us, we can't stop them! YOU can't stop them!"

"We're sending children to war," he said to himself. "And I as a saiyan, as a man am suppose to wait for a signal? No way," he turned back to Krillin. "I almost stopped them last time. I'll find a way this time. I'm doing more than hunting down a couple of brats, I'm hunting down the people who killed my son."

He pressed the button, shutting the doors, but not before he made a quick snap-vanish outside as he escaped, blasting off into the direction of a high power level.

"Raditz!" Krillin called. "That idiot, he's going to get killed if he flies around by himself."

**X X X**

"Trunks!" Gohan asked while flying beside him. "Remember when you were talking about what happened in the future? Is it really true that the androids have destroyed _everything_?"

"Yes," he started. "The androids have managed to pretty much annihilate our entire population. Some of us escaped from West City before it was destroyed. And now the only way to survive is in our secret base, underground."

"That's horrible," Goku's son replied. "Do you think we'll be able to find some way to stop them before they destroy this world, too?"

"Yeah... I do."

_Flashback_

"_Now go out there and finish them!" Dr. Gero commanded._

"It stands to reason that Dr. Gero would have _known_ about Android 17 and 18's rebellious nature-"

"_What? What are you doing?" he asked as the remote was snatched from him._

"-I doubt he would have chanced activating them unless he had some way of turning them off again," He thought out loud, remembering what had happened earlier that day.

"_You aren't going to put us to sleep again, old man," 17 sneered._

"_Too late!" Vegeta scoffed as he blasted the door down to the base._

"With all the confusion my father caused when he blasted down the door to the lab, it was impossible to tell how Dr. Gero lost control. But it's obvious whatever safeguards he put in place, had failed."

_Dr. Gero turned back, face near the breaking point of fury. "YOU WILL DO AS I TELL YOU TO DO! I AM YOUR CREATOR."_

_His scowl turned to shock melded perfectly with the pain he was feeling as 17's hand tore through his side. Then, the simple kick lobbed the head right off of him._

"In the end, the androids destroyed Dr. Gero. The _only one_ who had any knowledge of their weaknesses."

_End Flashback_

"Nonetheless, I'm confident that we can still find a means to deactivate those monsters. Once we figure out how to turn them off, we'll be able to prevent them from taking over this world. And I'll finally be able to take back what's left of mine."

The duo stopped at the same time, a large power level suddenly filled their senses as they focused on it. It was coming towards them, fast.

"Whoa! Who is that, Trunks?"

"I don't know, but let's hope it's on our side."

A few seconds later, the aura of white ki flashed in front of them, stopping only a few feet away from them as an old familiar face graced their presence.

Raiza.

"Raiza?" Gohan gasped.

"What the- That's who I was sensing? Man, am I glad to see you guys!" he sighed.

"You're alive!" Trunks cheered, relieved, happy to know the androids hadn't actually claimed their first victim in this time, yet. "But how? Raditz told everyone that Android 17 had killed you."

"Yeah," he glanced down towards the cloudy horizon. "I thought I was dead, too. I woke up in a village far up north. Lucky for me I just banged my head up a little bit."

Then it hit him, it was just Trunk and Gohan. Where was everyone else? "Where's my father? And everyone else?"

"Gohan and I are investigating something. Your father is with Goku and the others right now, he's being moved somewhere else in case the androids show up at his house."

"You think they'll still find him?" he wondered. He knew his uncle would try to put up a fight, but after fighting those things himself, he wasn't sure he would win. That's saying he would even be awake by then.

"Positive," Trunks sternly replied. "Anyway, Gohan and I are still on our way to meet my mom, you should tag along just to be safe."

"Yeah, alright," he nodded, taking off with the two half-saiyans.

**X X X**

The flight was only a few minutes longer, Raiza glanced over at Trunks as he pressed something on his watch, a quick beeping coming out right after.

"Okay, we're coming over West Section 1050," he said to them both.

"What are we looking for?" Raiza asked.

"The time machine I came back in," Trunks started. "Someone used another one just like mine, and I mean _exactly_ like mine. All the way down to the final details that made it unique. I'm convinced someone came from a different time after we built it, but I still want to check it out to be sure."

"Another you from the future?"

"I don't know," they stepped down onto the flat land. "That's why I need to see for myself."

"Yeah, I'm with ya," he sighed. "Too many things happening at once."

"Trunks!" Gohan shouted, giggling at his discovery. "Trunks! I found it! I found it! It's down here!"

Quickly joining his best friend in past form, Trunks quickly fixed on Gohan's position as he landed beside him, Raiza quickly stopping next to him.

"That's it alright, Gohan. Good work," he said, eyes fixed on the device in front of him. It was unreal to him, how? So many possibilities ran through his head, none of them sensible to him at the moment- he had to focus on what was happening now.

Before he could study it further, a distant roaring of engines caught their attention.

"Hey I'll bet that's Bulma," Gohan said. "I'll go tell her where we are!"

As Goku's son quickly took off, Trunks resumed his scan of the mossy machine. Raiza himself was curious.

"I'd like to think this was just another copy," Trunks thought out loud. "But it's completely signature, we only _made_ one because that's all we could do."

"How are you sure?" Raiza wondered.

Trunks sighed before giving a grim explanation, something he wasn't sure Raiza would like to hear. "When you fought the androids in my time, I was banged up pretty bad, but I could still recall the conversation you had with the androids before they killed you; I was able to see what happened."

"Did my dead me say anything useful?" he wondered, eyebrow quirked.

"That you were a saiyan. I figured that out after I saw you transform while fighting them, plus you were wearing the armor and the scouter; that gave it away. But my father used to tell my mother stories about how him, your father and someone named Nappa traveled in space pods when they used to work for Frieza."

"Yeah?"

"After they killed you, I waited until they left before finding the remote for your ship hidden under your armor. I... my mother and I, we used almost all of those parts to put the time machine through the final stages," he let out with a heavy sigh.

"Well, I was dead. Couldn't be much use to you, why's it such a big deal?" Raiza wondered.

"The problem was that I really _wasn't_ that injured, they just got a lucky shot on me..."

Then it all made sense to him, as his stomach sunk at the realization of what had happened.

He let him die.

Well, not really him, but future him. Still, was he telling the truth?

"You-"

"Yeah," he gritted his teeth. "It was one of the most haunting decisions I've ever made. If I had jumped in to help you, the androids might have killed me too. I had to play my part, we were just so close to finishing! I had just... I don't know what I was thinking. I was scared."

"Our dads would probably kill you if they heard about you hiding. My father always told me that if you have to hide, you were never ready for the mission," Raiza replied, still unsure how he felt about the situation.

"But that's the thing!" Trunks cried. "You don't get it! I lived my entire life hiding, running, rationing our food and water, sometimes going days without eating! When Gohan died, I was the only one left, and when I saw you transform against the androids, I thought for a second we might have a chance to fight them off," his head sunk. He was a coward, his father's pride passed into his genetic pool as he could feel his disapproval raining down on him, the glare that told him he was a failure to everything saiyan. "But I hid, and you died, when you could have lived and we might have been able to come back stronger. That's why I was so surprised to see you here so soon, you were much older when you came in my time and everyone had already been dead for years."

"I'm still here, present me. I don't care about the other me's," Raiza smirked, placing a hand on the half-saiyan's shoulder. "You're thinking too much about it, I think your human is showing."

"Hello down there!" a chipper female voice rang, interrupting their conversation as the two fighters glanced up to the jet as it touched down with Gohan in the lead.

"Hi, Trunks! I'm back. Did you miss me?"

"I... guess so," he awkwardly replied.

"So tell me, what do you think of the _younger_ version of your mother? Pretty cute, huh?"

Trunks tried, but failed as his face lit up in red. "Well I'd... say you haven't changed _that_ much."

"You mean that... I'll keep my girlish looks for at least another ten years? Oh that's great!" she giggled, not realizing how awkward she was making her future son feel at the moment. As for Raiza and Gohan, they were completely unsure how to respond... so they didn't.

"So anyway..." he reached into his pocket. "Look at this."

With a quick click and a toss, the capsule Trunks reached for exploded in smoke as seconds later, his time machine appeared nearly side by side to the one they were investigating.

"As you can see, _this_ is the time capsule I traveled back in..."

Bulma quickly glanced back and forth between them. "Which means that other capsule isn't yours after all."

But Trunks shook his head and he turned around. "They're both mine, I said we only managed to make one time machine in the future. The two capsules you see here, they're one in the same."

"I don't get it," his past mother replied.

"Here, look at this," Trunks stepped past her to a particular corner of the time machine before brushing away the thick moss. _Hope! !_ written on it.

"Hope... ?" she wondered.

"Yes, you wrote it just before I left from the future... and, you'll find the exact same thing written on that other capsule."

"But then what happened?" Raiza cut in. "There can't be another you flying around here, we would have seen him. Plus... that moss, it's had to have been sitting here for years."

Trunks and Gohan lifted up to the cockpit, surprised at the gaping hope coming from the inside; somebody broke out. And not just broken, melted.

"Whoa... how weird. It's melted, but the blast came from inside. Why would someone wanna do that? It doesn't make sense..."

"So, So Trunks?" Bulma asked from below. "What do you think made that big hole?"

"Honestly I wish I knew. Stand back," he motioned to Gohan as he opened the cockpit.

With a quick beep it staggered open, moss flying about as he peered inside, looking for some sort of explanation as to why this was happening.

Then he saw it.

"What's this?" he asked as he picked it up. Purple, small spikes... egg shells?

"What in the world are those?" Gohan asked. "They look like a couple of turtle shells.

"Hey!" Bulma whined, never liked being left out of anything big going on. "Let me have a look."

Gohan brought the shells to her, hoping she would have something to add, but she looked just as confused as the others.

"Well? What do you think, Bulma?"

"My guess is probably... egg shells, or something."

Raiza glanced up at Trunks' face. He was upset about something. Did he know about the thing inside?

Still inside the capsule, Trunks sat in the stiff chair and began punching away at the computer, hoping it could tell him how long it has been sitting here.

Fortunately, the machine had enough power as it beeped to life while he searched for his answers. "It looks like there's not much energy left in here... I better work fast."

Bored of waiting, Raiza lifted up to see what exactly Trunks was looking at, only to see flashing numbers in random sequences; reminded him of space travel.

Then again, the ship was built on a lot of his pod parts.

"Come on, don't give out on me," he said to himself as he punched away at the keys. "... I think I figured out when the capsule landed here!"

"When?" Raiza asked.

"It looks like it was three years ago," he announced. "No wait, it came here _four_ years ago. That just might explain a few things..."

"What are you talking about, Trunks?" Raiza asked; he really was unsure what was going on, something he never liked. Was it good? Bad? The fact that he didn't know gave him a sick feeling in his stomach.

"It means that by the time I battle Frieza three years ago, whoever had used this time machine had already been here for a year!"

_Obviously?_ Raiza wondered in his head.

"Is... is it possible that he's the one who changed history?" he grunted. "There can't be any other explanation!"

**X X X**

"And that's what happened."

Yamcha, Oolong and Master Roshi sat in silence as they listened to Krillin's explanation of the entire situation. Even after he finished, it was hard to accept all at once.

"So that's the whole story, eh?" Roshi asked.

"Let's just hope that Goku gets back on track before those androids find us all here," his student replied.

"That's all we can do now is hope," he sighed, fixing his sunglasses. "Sure would be nice if Raditz didn't just up and fly off like that; he's probably the only one who could hold off the androids right now until Goku gets better," and he shook his head. "What a shame, already losing someone. Raditz's son would have been exceptionally handy right now. Poor Raditz, I can't imagine the kind of pain he's going through."

"Yeah, but with the way he flew off, he isn't going to stop searching for them until he does. Not that I could blame him, I don't know how I could handle seeing my kid getting blown away like that. Plus, he lost his tail, so he's not as strong as he should be."

"Hey, wait a minute," Oolong spoke up. "If those androids are going to Goku's house first and they don't find him there, ISN'T THIS THE NEXT OBVIOUS PLACE TO LOOK?"

"Yeah, probably, that seems logical enough," Yamcha cooly responded, not even worried about the fact that their pig friend began to flail around in a panic.

But there were bigger things to worry about, and they were happening too quickly to plan for; it was the age of improvisation for now.

**X X X**

After hours of driving, 18's boredom got the best of her as she watched her giant friend simply sit in the back without any sort of attempt to converse with her and her brother. She just stared at him, almost as bored as he was. "I don't understand how 16 can be _so_ calm right now. It's been hours since he's opened his eyes, let alone said anything. You'd think that he would be excited that we were on our way to Goku's house. But instead he just sits there like a rock."

Finally seeing an opening to say something, 17 peered over. "Leave him alone, 18, 16 is just focused on fighting Goku. Now relax, we'll be in the next town soon. You'll finally be able to find some new clothes there."

That got her attention. Shopping? The one thing that never failed her. "Excellent! I can't wait to get out of these old rags. You think you can drive a little faster?"

He smirked. "Yeah."

But she still kept thinking about him, even with Goku's house drawing closer, 16's stillness irritating her and shopping for clothes coming closer every second. She wondered where he was, if he was okay, she felt like a mother worrying about him like that. But she figured if he was strong enough to hold his own against her brother, he should survive the cold she left him in.

**X X X**

"Well I guess that proves I'm a genius after all, eh, boys?" Bulma beamed as she set the egg shells down behind the three saiyans. "Imagine! Me, building a time machine in the future!"

While she enjoyed the thought to herself, Trunks' troubled expression broke the happy moment. "We had a lot of help, too. Lost a lot of people."

"Hm? You say something, Trunks?" she asked.

"No, nothing. I don't think it's a good idea for us to leave the time machine out here in the open like this. I better put it back into its capsule."

Scrubbing some more moss away, Trunks clicked the button, and just like his other devices, it went back into its capsule. Gohan ran over to put away the one Trunks had actually used.

"I'll take the weird egg shell thingies if that's alright with you," Bulma said while glancing down at them.

"Sure, go for it."

"Bulma," Gohan said as he approached her. "Listen, I think we'd all better hurry over to Master Roshi's now."

"Master Roshi's? But why?"

"Because, at any time now, those androids are going to probably show up there and try to fight my dad. But if he's still sick in bed, he won't be able to defend himself. I just think it's best that we get over there, and if he's not 100%, we'll still have a chance to move him."

"Hmm, I see. But shouldn't enough of your dad's friends already be there to help him out, Gohan?" she turned to Raiza. "Isn't your dad with them?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but during our fight with them last time, Android 17 cut off my dad's tail. He's a lot weaker now... I don't think he's going to be able to fight them all off by himself."

Trunks glanced at his mother, harshly for underestimating the androids that delivered the blackest days to him. "I don't think you understand. Even with the combined strength of Piccolo, Tien, Raditz, Raiza, myself, AND my father, we're no match for those androids."

"Wow... they're that strong, huh? So where is Vegeta, is he okay? Did he go back to Master Roshi's, too?"

"He's gone off to train alone somewhere," he scoffed. "Man! He's so focused on himself that the thought of helping anyone else probably never even occurred to him!"

But something caught Gohan's eye, and then, without a second thought, he stepped towards it, catching Bulma and Trunks' eye.

"I... think I... see something over there..." he inched closer and closer.

"What? What do you see?" Bulma wondered, now following Gohan as the two saiyans followed close by.

Finally stepping to the edge of a plateau, his eyes widened at what he was glancing at.

"Hey you guys! Come here, quick!"

In a quick burst, Trunks and Raiza arrived next to Gohan at the same time, Bulma just a few steps behind. "What? What is it Gohan?" Trunks asked.

"Behind the bushes..."

In that moment, the three were startled at what they were looking at, Bulma nearly falling back. "That thing is disgusting!"

Trunks stepped closer, his past mother holding onto him as he investigated. "Yeah but, what is it? I've never seen anything like it."

"You... You think it's dead?" she glanced.

Raiza knelt down in front of its face, the eyes piercing in a somewhat intimidating manner, but nothing he hasn't seen before. He tapped the center of its face, no response. "Seems dead to me."

"Look like whatever it is crawled off after it shed its skin," Gohan pointed, noting the back being completely split open.

"Shed its skin? Do you think it might have been some kind of giant cicada?"

Raiza shook his head. "I don't think so, not this thing. I'm starting to get a weird sense of connection," he glanced over at Trunks, sharing similar concerns. "What do you think?"

"Mhm. This might be what hatched out of the egg inside the capsule."

"Do you think it just grew up and molted out of its skin?" Gohan asked.

"What do you mean?" Bulma asked, paranoid about their surroundings at this point. "Do you think some sort of monster is now lurking around the countryside?"

"I'm not sure," Gohan replied. "I've never seen anything like this."

"But the question is," Trunks interrupted. "How did it get here in the first place? Did someone send the egg back from the future all by itself? Or did someone come back in the time machine along with it?"

Raiza reached into its shell, taking a large amount of purple gunk out of it as it clung to his hand. "It's still wet. It's gotta be close; he must have just popped out a couple hours ago tops."

All the investigation wasn't sitting well with poor Bulma as she clung to her son in a frightful yelp, glancing around quickly as the other three kept an eye out as well. Could they really afford another fight right now? Not with Bulma so close, they'd have to leave, or at least move her.

Trees, rocks, bushes. It was... eerily still. Each saiyan taking a triangle-like formation around the dead skin, not wanting to run the risk of being taken off guard.

_**Rustle Rustle**_

"WAHHHHAAAA!"

Bulma had never run so fast as the red hat she wore flew right off her head, rushing back to her ship as quickly as she could.

Tension building, they at least knew she was away from where the noise had come from. Raiza and Trunks took point, focusing in on the rustling, waiting, hoping it would be what they were looking for so they could find some answers. And kill it.

That is, until a small pack of furry critters emerged from the catacomb of the small cave they were staring down.

A sigh of relief and the weight of the world off of their shoulders, they relaxed; nothing but a couple of chinchillas.

**X X X**

"Uh well guys, level with me, would ya?" Bulma asked, still loopy from what had just happened. "Something's out there, right?"

Trunks nodded. "Right."

Cross-eyed now, the latch for her ship shut down. "I guess... I should go. Cause I don't want to get in the way? If anything happens, call me at Capsule Corp. Or I'll call you at Master Roshi's!"

"She's kind of bummed out," Gohan pointed out.

"Yeah... Kind of," Raiza replied.

"Oh and Trunks! Don't be a stranger and visit me sometime! Your grandparents would love to meet you!" and within seconds, the jets ignited, and she was gone.

And so were they, flying off in the opposite way.

_I wish I knew what on Earth was going on around here... _Trunks thought as they headed towards Master Roshi's.

"Hey," Raiza interrupted. "This thing, let's say it did come from the time machine. Pretty sure it did, how did it get a hold of YOUR device?"

"That's what I'm wondering.. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Okay, well, let's say it killed your future self and took the time machine. It has to be strong, so wouldn't we be able to sense it?"

"It could be suppressing its power level. I'm... not sure you're familiar with that yet," Trunks responded.

And Raiza shook his head. "Not yet. Try spending most of your life with scouters, you'll find adjusting a little difficult, but I'm doing okay so far. Still, would be nice to be able to feel out weaker powers now. Guess we're doing cat and mouse while waiting for the androids."

"Looks like it."

**X X X**

"Hm," Kami observed above the world. "These new developments are most unsettling, Mr. Popo."

"Yes, Kami."

And Piccolo just sat there, patient, but irritated the old man wouldn't give it up yet. "Haven't you gotten tired of standing there yet? You're just wasting your time, you know. You can watch events unfold as much as you like, it won't change anything! We're still going to have to combine our powers to fight the androids!"

And his eyes stayed glued to the darkening clouds below him, but he could see. He knew he could see it. "For the last four years I have felt a terrible disturbance, taking shape on the earth below. A great evil. But I'm afraid it wasn't the androids I sensed."

"If you're talking about Raditz and Raiza coming here, or Frieza, it's all taken care of; Frieza's dead, and Raditz and his son are on our side... or his son was, anyway."

He shook his head. "That is impossible. Raditz and Raiza came two years after I felt this disturbance, it is not them. And you're mistaken, Raiza is still alive."

"What?" Piccolo was taken by surprise, no doubt. He watched Raiza along with Raditz get blown away by Android 17, he knew he had to have been dead.

"It doesn't matter, he is alive and well, and with the others. But there is another threat. A vile creature which I'm afraid will prove to be a hundred times more lethal and cunning than even the androids."

Now Piccolo was annoyed, he really didn't like being played with like this. He needed a solid answer. "What are you talking about? Explain yourself! Right now, you hear me?" his hand grasped the guardian's shoulder.

"I'm sure the day will come when I give up being Guardian of the Earth. Then, and only then can we ever unite to fight as one."

Then, a harsh shove moved Piccolo off of him. "Piccolo!" he grunted, gripping his staff to the point of nearly breaking it in two. "We will wait for this new evil to surface. And you will trust me! I know what is best for the earth. But until I know exactly what we're dealing with I cannot make my decision.

"Old man..." Piccolo snarled, but was powerless; he knew he had to wait for him.

**X X X**

The stinging of the wind didn't phase Raditz as he blasted through the sky, no intent to stop until he found the androids.

_They'll go for his home first, it's the most logical place. I just need to get there before them, and I can take them by surprise._

He grunted. "Damn Vegeta! With the green man gone off and Kakarot sick, he's the only one who could lend a hand against them. And he's so busy keeping his head up his royal ass..."

_Flashback_

_After an unknown amount of time flying, Raditz picked up a swelling of power. It would rise, then drop. Rise again, then drop. _

"_Vegeta. It must be him, he flew off in this direction," he said to himself. "The androids don't have power levels, so I guess I'm safe for right now."_

_And only seconds later was he correct, glancing at the prince with his back to him, the destruction of mountains lay in front of him. The small clicking of his boots onto the rocks opened the prince's eyes._

"_Raditz. What do you want?" Vegeta snorted._

"_I'm on my way to my brother's home, trying to get there before the androids do. I could use your help."_

"_Tch. Fool, did you not see what those androids did to me? And your son? What makes you think you could beat them now when you couldn't last time?"_

_Raditz gritted his teeth to the point of nearly cracking them. He was really going to go there? He better not, even with his tail cut, he knew he could take Vegeta at this point... or his great improvement would tell him he could. He really didn't know, but times were different from working with Frieza, and he wasn't about to let anyone talk about his son that way. "You... dare?"_

_Ignoring Raditz's anger, Vegeta contemplated to himself on the next step. "I must... achieve something greater. The next level of the playing field for an elite warrior like myself, it must be there, but how... do I reach it?"_

"_YOU... DARE?" _

_Before Vegeta could make a full turn, his stomach hit the back of his body, his armor cracked as the prince's eyes set on a super saiyan Raditz._

"_You selfish little brat! Just as spoiled as ever!" he gripped his armor, no going back now, he was in the belly of the beast. "You lost your pride? I lost my son! And all you care about is getting stronger? You're so weak and proud that I surpassed you, nearly ending the androids myself! She, the woman, she was TOYING with you!"_

_The prince's eyes ignited like a furnace as he transformed, destroying the plateau they were standing on as the super saiyans stared each other down._

"_You? You could NEVER surpass me, Raditz!" he shouted, rushing with a strong knee that sent his teammate with a shout back into a mountainside. "You're just like your brother, AND your father! Weak, simple, driven only by survival, never by glory like a true saiyan!"_

_The mountain exploded as Raditz blasted back towards Vegeta, headbutting him before quickly ducking to trip him, following a harsh uppercut into the air._

_Quickly flying up to him, "My need for survival is what made me strong! A son to raise is what made me a man, and a purpose in my life made me a warrior; you could NEVER understand, even with the same things right in front of you! Your pride is laughable!"_

_Furiously, Vegeta regained control, blocking Raditz's first punch before volleying fists and kicks back and forth between each other. This was unreal, his partner, essentially the third-class warrior that he and Nappa felt sorry for was not only a super saiyan, but he was holding his own against him! The prince of ALL saiyans. He couldn't accept this: first his brother, now him? He wouldn't allow it._

_But it was happening before his very eyes. Vegeta would swing and Raditz would already be countering. He would block one punch but then be hit by another, was he really that strong now? How? It was unreal that a saiyan with power comparable to a saibaman could be this great so quickly._

_After Vegeta's last swing, Raditz was gone in a snap-vanish, and a bone-hard elbow met with the top of his head, crashing him into the ground below._

"_My son is dead, the androids are still searching for my brother, and all YOU care about is how humiliated you felt that the girl made such a mess of you," he powered down, hair returning to normal. "I can see this was a waste of time. Stay here and whine like the child you are, I am going to avenge my son's death and prevent my brother's."_

_With a flare of his aura, Raditz was gone. Vegeta groaned, lifting himself up from the rocks. Aside from the cracks in his armor, he was fine; his head wouldn't stop throbbing, though. _

"_Raditz... how could he have become so powerful so quickly? How? It doesn't... make sense."_

_End flashback_

"He's always been that way," he sighed. "But right now I need to figure out how to-"

A loud explosion in the city below him caught his attention, stopping him in mid air.

"What?"

Gunfire, shells, screaming.

Death.

Without a second thought, he descended. Were the androids here? He weaved through the crowd of people running the opposite way he was running. _They're here, they have to be. But am I too late for Kakarot? No, I would have seen them flying towards the old man's house._

Suddenly he stopped in his tracks, the shouting behind him, the panicking. It stopped.

Silence, and the wind howled behind him.

His instincts taking over, he ducked into the side alley as he planted his back against the wall, glancing left to right into the streets.

And his eyes shot open with a gasp of horror.

Clothes?

They were everywhere. But no people. He remembered seeing those people, running, screaming, crying, and now they had all gone and left their clothes on the street? It was... he couldn't understand it.

When he listened, the guns had stopped shooting. Was it over? He checked his corners, up, down, then finally stepped out into the street.

He knelt at the sight of a child's outfit. "No... even children?"

But something stuck out to him. A hole? In the back of the shirt. Actually, when he glanced around, they all had holes, backside, front, leg, there was always _a_ hole... but just one.

"Why would..."

His senses went off as the sound of the air cutting behind him. He lifted off, backflipping as he glanced down at what projected at him.

_What is that?_

Finally, he landed, glancing at... he wasn't even sure.

"Mmm, this time period is full of surprises. Never would I dream of meeting you here, Raditz."

_He knows my name?_ "Who are you? How do you know me?"

"Let's just say that I'm well connected," the creature smirked. "You and I. We are one in the same."

"What? You must be mad, we're nothing alike! Now tell me who you are or I'll erase you from existence!" he sneered, taking a stance as the creature's tail slithered across its back.

Green, black spots, wings, and a long tail with a sharp stinger. He was nothing like he had ever seen before, even with the history of fighting aliens that he had, he was different. Terrifying with a smell of millions of deaths across his body, almost like a cologne.

_What am I sensing off of him? It's like I'm sensing... Kakarot... Vegeta... Frieza? And myself and my son, all at once. How?_

"I must say, you have done quite well for yourself, Raditz," he smiled as his tail journeyed across his backside. "You were a spec of dust up until a few years ago. Now you've returned, and have accomplished quite a bit for yourself. That is good... you'll make for a refreshing collection of energy."

"Energy?" Then it hit him. _Of course! That tail! It has to be the way he's been killing those people. Good lord... sucked right out of their clothes. Never in my life would I have imagined... doesn't matter, I need to put this bug in the ground; I've got bigger things to worry about._

"I've done more than accomplished quite a bit," the saiyan smirked, clenching his fists as his aura quickly snapped from white to gold, his transformation quick and complete. "I'll be glad to show you."

"Ahahaha!" he chuckled. "Stupendous, I would hate to have a meal come so easily, where would the appetite come from?" taking a stance, his tongue gently glazed his lips.

With a quick spread of his wings, the creature flung himself at Raditz, tail pointing straight towards him.

"Come and get it, then!"

**End Chapter 20**

**First of all, if you don't hate me for taking so long, THANK YOU FOR READING! Again, I am so sorry for taking so long... I've had a lot going on. Don't worry, nothing too bad, and I DO plan on updating more frequently again.**

**Hope you guys have liked what I've done with this chapter... I actually took a little while writing it, tweaking it up to make sure it at least followed the story (with our little touch of course =p) to the point of seeming possible. I like how it turned out, so let me know what you think, reviews are always always ALWAYS welcome, and I don't mind constructive criticism (if it is in fact, constructive!). Anyway, please review and I'll see you next time! -PD**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey guys, SO, I take it some of you liked the interesting little fight I set up. I wasn't actually intending to have it happen, but with the way I was writing it, it sort of just ended up that way. Oh well, no complaints here, let's get to it!**

With a straight from the monster, Raditz side stepped, using his loose leg to roundhouse him in the back, sending it towards the building behind him.

He quickly bounced off of the walls, hungrily growling as he flung towards Raditz, volleying his tail at him in an attempt to stick him, though the saiyan did a well enough job to stay clear.

_What an insane amount of speed! I can barely keep up, and that stinger, I can't let it hit me. I need to get around him, but how?_

Still adjusting to the imbalance of losing his tail, he tripped, feeling his heart stop as the breaking of armor could be heard.

Quickly he glanced, he had only broken the shoulder pad of the armor. On instinct he grabbed the tail, swinging it along with his opponent as hard as he could.

"You! Put me down at once!" he shouted, a robotic-like accent coating his voice from being spun so quickly.

Several dizzy moments and shouts from both fighters later, Raditz sent the monster flying up into the sky. _Alright, time to get him before he can guard himself!_

Hunching down, his open palms quickly lit up in a magenta color as he took aim at the black dot in the blue sky.

The creature stopped himself at that moment, chuckling to himself as he noticed what was about to happen. "I see, so, is that how you want to make your next move?"

He hunched himself over, aiming downward as his palms opened.

He couldn't believe his eyes, how did he know that? "What? No way!"

"Double SUNDAY!"

Before he realized it, the sky lit up with the bright shades of magenta bolting towards him. In a shout, he released the energy, making a direct contact with his opponent's. Just enough to trigger an explosion between them.

As the smoke cleared, a straight beam of ki flew towards the green monster. With a simple tilt of his head, he avoided the attack.

"I was hoping for something more- AGH!"

A crunching strike from above Raditz's axe kick sent him flying straight into the ground below them. "Is that what you had in mind?" he taunted.

The sound of a snap-vanish sent Raditz turning around, his opponent only a couple of feet apart from him, an amused chuckle across his face.

"How did-"

"I suppose before I absorb you I can grant you a simple request. You wish to know who I am, don't you?"

"I want to know how you used my own attack against me! That's only an attack that-"

"Your son Raiza, and brother Goku use. Ah, my mistake, you continue to refer to him as Kakarot."

"Tell me how you know this! Who are you?"

Slowly and stealthily, the tail dangled from hanging loosely in the air to over his head, repeating the fashion.

"I'm your brother," he smirked. "Surprise."

"Ugh, do not mess with me! That's an attack only Vegeta natives are taught along with the-"

"Gallick Gun. Mm, yes, I'm already quite aware," his hands dropped, letting his form appear loose and unguarded. "It seems I have a bit of explaining to do. Where shall I begin?"

"Why don't we find out your name. You do have one, don't you?"

A low chuckle escaped from him. "Raditz, charming as ever."

"My name is Cell. I'm an android."

"Android?" he gasped. "How? We've already fought them. There's 5 of them, or was..."

"Indeed," he replied. "I was a... later experiment, if you will. A long-term project with a very simple goal from the moment of my conception."

"That doesn't explain how you used my own attack against me."

"Allow me to explain. You see, when Dr. Gero began his creation of the androids, he was very set on keeping everything he had collected. His information, into every model and every make. Until he found a way to not only record and understand the styles of them, he could replicate them down to the moves, and cells themselves."

Scoffing, "Is that why your name is 'Cell'? Because you're some grand collection of all of us?"

"Oh my, it seems you've figured me out. Yes, you are quite correct, Raditz, I am a collection, a gathering of all the cells of the greatest fighters on this planet. I am a saiyan, a namek, a human, and an ice-jin, complete with the benefits of their races. The strengths of all, the weaknesses of neither! Like you, I grow stronger whenever I am injured, like the nameks, I can regrow my lost body parts, like a human, my emotions fuel my fighting spirit, and like the ice-jins, I can survive anywhere."

"Sounds to me like you were made to be perfect," he smirked. "I'm afraid the doctor made a crucial mistake. He should have simply made you a pure saiyan, not a salad."

"Your denial is... understandable. Though I am not complete, I assure you that this fight is won. I am simply... entertaining your final wishes."

"Hah! I'm sure you are. Well then, why are you waiting? Show me what you've got!"

His face becoming still, he snap-vanished, appearing behind Raditz with a hard kick, sending him into the streets below them in a diagonal direction.

Cell quickly landed with his arms crossed and an amused smirk on his face, watching an annoyed Raditz pick himself off of the asphalt.

"Now then, I think it's time that I stepped up my game. I won't be able to fully enjoy your energy if I'm too tired and you are too weak," he licked his lips once more before clenching his fists.

His grunts came as soon as his power rocketed. The clothes, the cars, grass, even trees were blown away as Cell began to raise his power even further.

_What... power! _Raditz though as he covered his face from the debris. Seconds later, a shimmering light erupted as Cell gave a final shout, consuming the city around them.

**X X X**

Back at Master Roshi's house, Raiza and Trunks turned their heads to the direction of where they felt the massive energy coming from.

"Hey, you guys," Gohan said as he stepped out of the door, followed by Krillin. "I know this is weird, but do you sense-"

"Two Raditzs, yes," Trunks replied.

"And... Frieza!" Gohan added on. "And his father."

"Plus my father?" Trunks wondered. "Wait! Do you guys... do you guys feel that, too?"

"It's Goku!" Krillin called. "He's there, too!"

Grunting, Gohan floated up to the second floor of Master Roshi's home, and as suspected, Goku was fast asleep.

"But my dad's still here sleeping!"

This didn't sit right with any of them. How could all of those people, especially Frieza and his father who had both been destroyed, be in a city that far away? Together?

"If there's two traces of my dad, then one of them has to be him!" Raiza shouted. "Come on!"

"Wait, Raiza!" Krillin tried calling, but he was already gone, Trunks quickly taking off behind him. "You guys wait here, I'll follow them in case they need any help."

**X X X**

Raditz jumped back, dodging another blast from Cell as they jumped from roof to roof. He was much faster now, he had to keep his eyes on him the whole time or he would get the jump on him.

He flew backwards, keeping his face on Cell as he rushed towards him. He threw a straight, only for Raditz to stop and shoot upward. A second later, Cell was in front of him, engaging in another barrage of attacks above the empty city below them.

At the last second, Raditz noticed Cell's tail just in time to move out of the way, using his legs, he quickly swung around Cell, wrapping his legs around his neck. Before the android could even react, the saiyan had already back flipped, slamming Cell into the ground below as he released him.

As the smoke quickly cleared, Raditz realized Cell wasn't where he launched him. He wasn't anywhere near it.

He landed on the ground, trying to feel out for his power level, but nothing came to him. He just vanished.

"Coward! Fight me, you 'ultimate warrior', there is no way a creature with saiyan blood could run from a fight he boasted he could win!" he taunted.

Sensing at the last second, he shot straight up, landing onto the edge of a building. He traced it back, but found no one. It was almost as if the blast had come out of nowhere... but he knew he wasn't alone.

"Got you!" he shouted, turning as he slammed his shin into the air which turned to be Cell's head as he skidded towards the edge of a building.

The android quickly jumped up before rushing towards Raditz as they begin their bout of barraging each other in attacks. Raditz swung forward, and Cell was gone. Cell came down with his foot, Raditz was then gone, too.

Standing on a building across the road from each other, Raditz stood with his arms crossed, golden aura shimmering like his pride. Though on the inside, he knew he was struggling to maintain control. Cell wasn't much stronger than he was, in fact, he was sure he was still stronger physically. But his speed was so unorthodox. _I guess that's what happens when you combine everybody's cells together._ he concluded.

"Are you sure you want to eat me?" he snickered. "I'm not exactly the most nutritious thing you could consume. Heh, and I can assure you my hair would clog up that bizarre tail of yours from ever sucking up another person again."

"Flattery will get you everywhere. Everywhere but here, I'm afraid," Cell replied. "No, this town was a mere fraction compared to what I am to become."

"What? What are you talking about?" _He must get his energy from each and every person he absorbs. It makes perfect sense... but when does it end? Can it?_

"Ah, ah, ah. I'm afraid I told you too much by revealing myself to you. Not that you will be spreading word of my existence, I'm done warming up," he smirked, smacking his tail on the barrier of the roof, cracking it in as small fragments fell to the ground below.

"You said you're an android, but you have all of our cells. Why would you need to absorb others? Aren't you calculated like the others?" he persisted. He had to get some answers out of him, never mind the fact that he might lose to him and become his next meal.

"On the contrary, the cells of you and the others is imperative to my objective. Without you or your brother, this could not be possible."

"But I don't get that!" he cried. "Objective for what? Are you trying to suck this planet dry?"

"Now, now, Raditz. I believe that's enough questions for now," he smirked as he began to raise his left hand, retracting all but his index and middle finger as he placed it on top of his forehead. "Perhaps you have already forgotten that it is I who is in control," he smirked, his mood brightening from the fearful and pained expression that ran across the saiyan's face.

"Haaaa..." he growled.

A chill bolted down Raditz's spine as he registered exactly what was happening before him, and he was frozen in his memories. "Ah- ah... no!"

"_**No, you can't!"**_

"_**AHHHHHH!"**_

"_**They'll come! I know they will... and when they do, you're all finished!"**_

"Special Beam Cannon!"

Where was he? Cell was there, but now it was Piccolo. And he couldn't move. He fearfully looked around him, his brother was there?

"Kakarot?" he whined. "What are you doing? Let go of me!"

He was frozen, his own brother's face snarled as it shook, exploding into the face of a demon, yellow fangs craving his skin as he was gripped in its embrace.

"N-no! Let go of me! Let go of me, you fool!" he shouted, struggling, but it was no use. The attack was so close, he knew it would-

Be projected away from him at the last minute?

"Were you really planning on taking that if I hadn't shown up?"

Snapping out of it, Raditz glanced up to the left, the sun covering his image aside from the outline, but it was him. The voice was something he would always remember.

"Gr... green man?"

Piccolo landed onto the thin telephone pole on top of the roof of the building next to Raditz. But something was different about him this time. He was... different. Fierce, but calm. Powerful, but reserved. Anxious, yet strategic and wise.

"So, his name is Cell and he's a collection of all of us," he said. "Interesting."

"Ah, Piccolo," Cell smirked. "How good of you to join us; Raditz was just beginning to bore me. Though I am unsure how much more entertaining you could be, the more the merrier."

"Hmph. Doesn't seem too bad to me. You couldn't handle him on your own, Raditz?"

"I lost my tail, what do you want from me?" he groaned, keeping his eyes on Cell incase he decided to pull a fast one.

"I suppose that's true, but you've gotten very powerful very quickly. You almost defeated the androids, and this guy doesn't seem too powerful. No matter, I'll take it from here."

"What? Green man, you must be inebriated! This _thing_ is as strong as I am!"

"Ah, I see," Cell chuckled. "So you've already ran a course with Androids 17 and 18 I'm presuming. Tell me, how did you fare?"

"They won that time," Piccolo smirked, floating down next to Raditz. "They won't next time, though."

"I'm afraid we will have to disagree, Piccolo. I have... plans for 17 and 18."

"Plans?" Raditz asked the namek.

"Indeed, and you two shan't keep me from my goals," he smirked, snap-vanishing that instant.

Barely a second later, Piccolo and Raditz flung themselves from the top of the building into the sky as Cell's kick came from above, crushing the roof and the very foundation of the building as it crumbled to the ground.

"Green man, don't let that tail stick you! It's how he's been absorbing people, the last thing we need is for him to get one of us."

Piccolo turned that second, firing a ki blast at nothing, then turning into Cell as he simply deflected it. As it bounced away, Piccolo engaged the beast in combat, Raditz simply watching how fast they were moving.

Indeed, he knew by now that Cell really was holding back on him. But to watch Piccolo move like that, when just days ago he couldn't even touch the androids, it was almost impossible. What did he do?

"Do not ignore me, bug!" he shouted, lobbing a barrage of ki blasts towards Cell as Piccolo quickly noticed and phased away.

But the smoke hadn't even cleared before Cell bolted out of it, a harsh straight into the saiyan's face sent him flying back.

He regained his balance, only for a moment before he doubled over in pain from the force sent into his gut, then a harsh pain in the back of his neck as he was shot down into the ground.

"Damn. Not good," Piccolo said to himself as Cell chuckled, turning his attention back to him.

"Raditz. He tried," Cell stated. "You've piqued my interest, Piccolo. How do fighters such as you and him become so powerful when my data tells me otherwise?"

"Heh. We've had the advantage of knowing you guys were coming three years in advance. Sorry to say, but we've been more than ready for this battle."

"Mm... I would have to disagree. Your friend in the rubble below would prove your point to be... inaccurate; exaggerated at the very least."

His smirk never faded as he tossed his turban and cloak aside to the ground below. "Don't worry. I work very hard not to disappoint."

Before he could respond, Piccolo's power surged at a rate he never thought possible for him, the namek's body actually shook from the amount of power emitting from him. Electricity sparked from around him at random times, and with a final shout, his power exploded in a white light that shook buildings to the ground.

**X X X**

"Whoa!" Trunks shouted as he and Raiza came to a stop. "Did you feel that?"

"Yeah. That's Piccolo, isn't it?"

"It has to be. But his power is wild now, how did he get so powerful so quickly?"

"Beats me, but my father's power just took a drop, so I'm not stopping anymore. Come on!" he shouted as he blasted towards the city again in an explosion of white ki.

"Yeah."

**X X X**

So much rain, and so quickly. Vegeta blasted through the harsh weather as a Super Saiyan in the direction of the huge power levels he was sensing. First there were two, then three, one of them dropped. Then two again, though they were slightly lower, and now three more powers had shown up?

_How odd. This storm blew up out of nowhere, and it seems to have a great energy behind it... It must have something to do with the powers I was sensing in this direction._

**X X X**

Far away from the rain, a lone Tien flew at his own speed towards the city, hoping to make some sort of impact. _It's going to take all I've got to help Piccolo and Raditz. I just hope I'm not too late._

**X X X**

Damn, that _really_ hurt. Raditz wasn't expecting that much force so quickly. He ignored the crick in his neck as he lifted himself out of the rubble, a bit scratched up, but still able to fight.

Up above him though, the real battle was taking place. Piccolo and Cell, moving at insane speeds, the saiyan himself had difficulty keeping up with them. Was this _really_ how strong Cell was? He gritted his teeth as he realized he really never had much of a chance against him. Not with _that_ type of speed. However, if he got his tail back... if he never lost it, he was SURE he would have no trouble with him.

And what about Piccolo? Had he always been this powerful but was just holding back? _Impossible! The namek can't be that strong, he was so weak when we fought the androids just days ago. No, he wouldn't be holding back then, he's changed somehow..._

His thoughts quickly left him as a loud whistling noise brought his eyes towards a flying Piccolo being shot straight down into him. He couldn't move in time, and the namek crashed straight into him, creating an uprising of rock as they skidded back several feet before stopping.

"Tch. Thanks for breaking my fall," Piccolo smirked.

"Get off of me, fool!" Raditz snapped as he shoved his comrade off of him.

Glancing up at the sky, an amused Cell glanced down at them with his arms crossed, anxiously awaiting the next move from his opponents.

"This isn't good," Piccolo admitted.

"What? What do you mean _this isn't good_?"

"He's a lot stronger than he's leading us to believe. I'm playing it safe, not going full-force. You should have done the same; now he knows your limit."

"Don't try to lecture me on battle tactics, green man! I've got decades upon decades of _real_ battle experience!"

"Yeah? Any advice then, soldier?"

He growled at his sarcasm, but he was right; there wasn't much he could really come up with. One idea, but he was unsure of it, even as he proposed it. "There is one."

"I'm listening," he replied, his antennas twitching once as he kept his eyes on Cell.

"I need you to let him stick you."

"What?" he snapped, nearly shouting. "You can't be serious. I'm stronger than you, _you_ let him stick you."

"Stupid namek! I can't grow my limbs back, but _you_ can!" he grunted, gripping the bridge of his nose. "Think for a second, if he sticks you with his tail, it has to remain still while he drains you. When he does that, I'll get behind him and take care of his tail."

"That's a brilliant plan, Einstein, but you're forgetting that with _my_ cells, he'll just regrow his tail back. Plus, since he has _your_ cells, an injury that severe will end up making him stronger."

"Idiot, don't you think I know that?" he growled. "But he can't grow his limbs back instantaneously. Didn't you say yourself it takes a short time to regrow your limbs since you have to focus your energy on that specific point?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Then once I do that, I'll keep him busy while you regrow whatever he drains. Then come in and help me out, if we can both gang up on him he won't be able to handle us both."

"How are you so sure about that?" he wondered. The plan seemed logical enough, but Cell was stronger than both of them.

"You and my brother beat me by using your heads, not your strength. Though I admit, there wasn't much strength to be shown, hahah."

He scoffed, but he knew that was the only thing they could do right now.

"Alright, let's do it."

"That's the spirit, green ma-"

"Am I interrupting?"

The dark laughter coming from behind them caught their attention, not before Raditz was violently hurled into a building nearby, collapsing it on top of him.

Piccolo ducked just in time to avoid a kick that would have sent him next to his comrade, back flipping away to meet with a fist he blocked, he shot up above the buildings as he engaged his opponent yet again.

_So much for that plan. Need to hold off until I can get a shot in on this guy._

After what felt like hours of volleying attacks at each other, Piccolo snap-vanished from a punch thrown at him by Cell. The android's eyes shot open, and he vanished before Piccolo could deliver a hard shin to his head.

Yet despite their speed, Cell was still quicker. This was made painfully clear to Piccolo as his arms and legs wrapped around his body, a painfully tight grip as the durability of his bones were put to the test.

"How unfortunate," Cell smirked as his tail dangled above Piccolo's head. "I can see through you, Piccolo. Your fusion with another namekian... Kami. It explains the vast increase in power. Though I would have rejoiced in the opportunity to acquire the Dragon Balls and wish for immortality, this is still a victory for me."

"What? What are you talking about?" he grunted, struggling as much as he could, but making no progress whatsoever.

"Yes, I can feel the curiosity off of you. I will grant you a final wish and reveal my plans to you. You see, I have a purpose. A mission, which I will achieve shortly after consuming you and whatever is left of Goku's brother."

His breathing was harsh, he could feel his bones stiffening as Cell's limbs dug into his skin. It infuriated him, to gain so much power so quickly only to still be bested by a mere bear hug.

Then he felt it, the dagger of pain. His tail as it pierced into his left shoulder, a howl of agony confirming its injection.

"I am going to absorb Androids 17 and 18. Doing so will bring me towards my greatest genetic evolution. I will be... perfect," he chuckled, laying his head on Piccolo's right shoulder as his tail began to pump the namekian's energy, his left arm started to yellow. Slowly, shrinking, shriveling after every drain took from him.

"Even with the powers of Goku, Vegeta, Frieza, and so many others, they pale in comparison to the strength of the androids. I must acquire this power for myself."

Piccolo gritted his teeth, he couldn't let Cell take the androids for himself. There was no telling how powerful he could become, but he couldn't do anything at the same time either. "You see, in my time, 17 and 18 no longer existed. They had _somehow_ been destroyed by Trunks, and along with them my hope for ever reaching my final perfect stage. Luckily, however, I discovered that Trunks had a time capsule that I decided to borrow for myself. And so I had traveled back in my larval form into another time where, fortunately, 17 and 18 were alive and well."

"But why did you choose _this_ particular time?" Piccolo asked.

"I didn't," he smirked. "The coordinates were preset by Trunks. I merely pushed a button and the machine went where it was programmed to go."

The thought of Trunks attacking and being strangled, absorbed, or some type of execution by Cell sickened Piccolo to the core. So he's from the future? This changed everything. This also means that there's another Cell being made right now, and they needed to find it. _I get it now. Trunks had set the time for the present in order to tell us he had defeated the androids. Only he met this guy instead..._

"There is one last thing the computer told me," Cell said. "Once I absorb the other androids I will be the most powerful being who has ever lived. You are providing me with the utmost possibility of making this a reality. Thank you, Piccolo."

"Yes, thank you, Piccolo."

Cell's eyes shot open in surprise as a searing hot pain quickly came, and a pink ball of energy shot ahead of him. He looked down in horror as the top half of his tail descended to the ground below them, confirming his quick suspicions.

Instinctively from the pain, his grip loosened from the namek as he fell below, doubling over in pain as he gripping the half of his tail still remaining. It was gone, it was really gone, seared to the skin from the extreme heat.

Then his body was pressed up against another, an arm wrapping around his neck to keep him centered against him. Harsh and containing the smell of blood, sweat, and hate. He knew who was behind him, how could he have been so careless?

"Goodbye, Cell."

His pain was too great to scream as the pink blast shot straight through his abdomen, a large hole forming at the remains of what was his center of mass.

His body was shoved off, and as Cell glanced back up before blacking out, he glanced at a damaged Raditz. One shoulder pad destroyed, with the crotch protection gone and another hip guard gone as well. The look of a soldier, and a killer, something that actually sent chills down _his_ spine as he fell to the ground below.

Cell's body crashed into the ground, Raditz quickly landed by Piccolo's body, checking for a pulse.

"Good, green man is still alive," he thought out loud, gasping at his shriveled arm. _I can't imagine how... never mind, this is not the time to worry._

Then an idea hit him. Checking under his armor, he pulled out one Senzu Bean, one his brother had given him from a day of training while they were preparing for the androids. He had almost completely forgotten about it, wanting to keep it for an emergency only.

Deciding it was appropriate, he slipped the unconscious namek the bean, motioning his jaw to chew as he swallowed it. Seconds later, Piccolo awoke, sitting up straight in a daze of confusion.

"What-" he glanced to the far side of the road, observing Cell's limp body, then back to Raditz. He couldn't believe it, but that grunt saiyan had actually pulled it off.

With a slow nod of understanding, Raditz and Piccolo exchanged a victorious thumbs up between each other, before the saiyan finally lost the energy needed to sustain his transformation, returning to his base form, falling back in the rubble near his comrade.

Thanks to the bean, there was no need for Piccolo to tear his arm off and regrow it. Thankfully, too, Raditz wasn't in the mood for anything else but rest. Just peace and quiet.

"You know, I didn't think you were going to show up. I thought you were done for," Piccolo stated.

"I needed you to be convincing," he chuckled in between heavy breaths. "Being knocked into a building is nothing. I've been hit harder by Vegeta, Frieza, the android, and do you remember that hole you put in my stomach?"

There was a brief pause before the saiyan and namek bursted into laughter. Their relationship wasn't as extreme as Goku and Vegeta's, but they at least shared a level of mutual respect, especially after today.

A second later, they were back on their feet as they sensed three power levels approaching. Raditz could even them out. Two were powerful, one slightly stronger than the other. The third one was puny, not a threat at all. It couldn't be the androids, his brother informed them they couldn't be sensed. Was it Trunks and Vegeta? No, he doubted it. Vegeta probably didn't even move from the place he left him when they last fought.

"Relax," Piccolo said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I've got some good news."

"What? What news?" his eyebrows lifted before asking again. "Kakarot? Is that who I'm sensing?"

Piccolo simply smirked before shaking his head, pointing up as Raditz glanced up.

Above them, Trunks glanced down below them in the center of three, Krillin on his left. And to the right...

"Impossible," he gasped. "But he's-"

Just as quickly as he laid eyes on them, Trunks, Krillin and Raiza touched down on the broken city as the father and son glanced at each other.

"Father! I'm so glad that-"

"Fool!" he growled as he socked Raiza onto the ground with a single punch. "Do you have _any_ idea how worried you made me? I had all but buried a body!"

"Ow! Hey, what the hell, man? I say hi and you punch me? Some father you are."

Raditz turned, crossing his arms and huffed. "I saw you die. Had I known you were still alive... well, it doesn't matter. You're still here, and that's good; we need you."

Raiza awkwardly chuckled as he stood up, rubbing his sore jaw done so by his father's tough love. "Aww, come on, Dad, you don't have to hold back. I was worried about you and everyone else too when I was gone."

"Let's worry about the situation at hand," Trunks cut in. "What happened? We were sensing some pretty crazy powers back at Master Roshi's house.

"Right," Raditz began. "I was looking for the androids when I noticed things happening in a town I was passing over. I was curious, so I decided to investigate. What I ended up finding however, was-"

As he turned back to point at his victim's limp body, he and Piccolo shared a gasp of terror at the realization of what they saw.

Cell was gone.

"What?" he snapped. "No, it can't be!"

"What? What's wrong, Dad?"

"He's gone. You, green man, did you see anything?"

"No. I thought he was dead, I saw you kill him."

Raditz was in a quick panic, rushing over to where Cell's body was. He knelt down, touching the concrete. It was definitely blood, but how could he have regenerated when he punched a hole clean through his chest? He had to have destroyed too many major organs for him to even begin recovery, he was so sure he had done enough.

_This is madness. I saw him die, I killed him!_

"Such a reckless mistake, Raditz, even for someone like you."

His head was turned back before he could even register who said it, but he knew who it was. All five of them, glancing at a half fallen building, and the source of the voice.

Cell. Alive and well.

"What? How?" he growled.

"An attack like that would have killed anyone. Anyone but me, that is. For thanks to Piccolo's cells and my superior design, as long as my core remains intact, I can _always_ regenerate myself," he chuckled. "And the injury you inflicted was... quite devastating. I love the saiyans. An amazing race that adds power on top of injury. Thank you for the increase in power, Raditz, you truly are a charitable man."

His hands were shaking in anger. How could he have been so careless? He could have blasted Cell and obliterated him right then and there. But he didn't. Why didn't he?

He tried to transform, but he couldn't. His hair flashed gold, then returned to black. He was too exhausted, too much energy was used just in that fight.

"Dad? What is this thing?" Raiza asked, keeping his eyes straight on him in a stance.

"Raiza," Trunks said. "Look at it. Look at its skin. It _must_ be that creature that came from my capsule!"

_Trunks is here..._ Cell thought. _Stupid boy. As if being killed by me in his own time wasn't enough. I don't understand why creatures so defective are ever allowed to live._

The more they stared at him, the more sense it made. And the power he was emitting, it was massive.

"He's... freaking me out," Krillin said with a shaky voice before turning to Piccolo. "Is this the guy who was responsible for wiping everybody out in Ginger Town?"

"Yeah, he's the one, so be careful. And stay clear of his tail," he replied, still feeling the crushing damage of his tail penetrating him just minutes ago.

"What's with the energy I'm sensing?" Krillin wondered. "It's like Goku and Tien are here!"

"Be quiet, baldy," Raditz snapped. "We need to take care of this thing first, then we'll explain."

"SO, even after all you two have been through," he glanced to Piccolo and Raditz, then eyeing over the other three. "You still think you can defeat me? ... Don't flatter yourself..."

"Man... he's a freak!" Krillin cringed. What was he even doing here? If Piccolo and Raditz couldn't even beat him, what good could he possibly do?

Piccolo smirked. "Don't worry, guys. With the five of us here he doesn't stance a chance and he knows it."

"Namek," Cell spat. "Once I become complete you won't be so cocky!"

There he went again, ranting about becoming complete. Man it was bothering him. Complete this, androids that, ultimate warrior that, Piccolo had been hearing some type of squabble along those lines ever since Vegeta and Nappa first came to Earth. "You're outnumbered and outmatched, you can't win! You couldn't even handle Raditz and I. What makes you think you have a chance against 2 more super saiyans?" He felt bad for not including Krillin. He had his moments, and was a good fighter that knew his martial arts as well as anyone else, but he wasn't even a blip on the radar for this guy. "Especially if Raditz's Double Sunday and my Special Beam Cannon is the best that you can do!"

"What?" Raiza turned. Did he hear right? "That's impossible, how does he know that technique? Only Vegeta natives who studied advanced ki techniques could have learned that..."

"Not only do I know the Double Sunday, Raiza," Cell cockily smiled. "I know your uncle's Kamehameha, and I know a little technique called the Spirit Bomb."

"And he knows my name," he lightly said. "What the heck's going on? Who is this guy?"

"This whole thing is getting freakier with every minute!" Krillin stated, getting a nod from Trunks.

"Tell me... how _is_ Goku doing?" he chuckled. If he could get _Goku's_ energy, now, that would be a treat.

"You'll see soon enough!" Krillin shouted back.

_So... he's still alive in this timeline. I will deal with him later... _his eyes focusing on the brightness of the sun, he turned back to his company. _First I must attend to these five vagabonds._

"You must feel honored," he started. "Soon you will be part of the perfect being!"

With a light lift, he was up in the air, floating towards the sky. "But, as anxious as you are, you will just have to be patient. You see, I have a date with a couple of friends and it would be rude of me to make them wait! But here's a parting gift!"

Just then, he aligned himself in front of the brightness of the sun, cackling as he raised his hands up, spreading them across his forehead.

"Solar Flare!"

The world it felt like, lit up in a blinding light that hit all five of them at once. Their shouting in pain confirmed Cell's move was successful as they fell to the ground or covered their eyes up in a failed attempt to look for him, but it was useless.

He was gone now.

"Can't... see," Piccolo grunted.

"He's gone!" Trunks stated as he was the first to open his eyes back up. Everything was hazy, but nothing had changed, except Cell's departure.

"Oh man," Krillin complained, still hunched over from the pain in his eyes. "I wish I had Master Roshi's sunglasses right about now."

"Hey, Krillin! That was Tien's Solar Flare technique, wasn't it?" the namek asked, now regaining his vision completely at this point.

"Agh, yeah, it's a great move if you're looking to make a quick escape," he replied, finally opening his eyes to see the other four back to normal already. "I've even been known to use it on more than one occasion."

"... That COWARD!" Piccolo shouted. So close, he was so close to putting a stop to a major threat, possibly an even greater threat than the androids. If he just had a second to grab him... but now he's gone.

Quickly he flew up above the city, the other four following him as they glanced around. Cell was definitely out of the eye's view, even his power level was off the grid at this point.

"I don't see him anywhere," Krillin said.

"He doesn't want to be seen, idiot," Raditz growled, sharing just as much frustration as Piccolo.

As if on cue, Piccolo spoke up. "We have to find him quickly, or more innocent people are going to die!"

"Let them die!" Raditz shot back to his comrade. "We can revive them once we stop Cell. We need to find the androids first, because we KNOW Cell will be on the lookout for them! We find the androids, and all we need to do is wait, and Cell will walk right to us!"

"We can't do that, don't you get it?" the namek said back. "Ever since I fused with Kami, the Dragon Balls became useless. There is no way to bring those people back if they die, so we have to get to him first!"

"Dad, what's gonna happen?"

We don't know yet, son. But things are about to get a lot worse."

"Damn it."

**X X X**

"Everyone! Hurry! Come see!"

A sudden frantic voice from Chi-Chi brought everyone's head into a turned position as she rushed down the stairs. "M-Master Roshi! You have to hurry, it's Goku!"

"Calm down! What's happening?" he replied.

"Is it Dad? Is he okay?" Gohan asked while holding a tray of drinks.

"You've all got to come see! Up here!" she turned, running back up the stairs as the others quickly followed behind her.

A few seconds later, Roshi, Yamcha, Oolong and Gohan had made their way to the top room where Goku still laid sound asleep. As they circled around him, their focus intensified. What were they supposed to be looking for?

And then, he smiled.

"You see that? Goku actually smiled," his wife gleefully stated. Granted he was still asleep and his conditions were still unknown, seeing something besides tossing and turning from nightmares was a glimmer of hope.

"Yep! He smiled, all right!" Roshi replied.

"He must be feeling better!" Gohan added on.

"Wait," Roshi stopped. "That's no ordinary smile..."

Gohan and Yamcha glanced over to him. What other kind of smile was it supposed to be?

"I've seen that look on his face a few times before. It's that same peculiar smile he gets just before he's about to engage in a colossal battle."

"Yeah... it is, yeah!" Yamcha confirmed. "I bet it's a premonition. Like he's getting ready to fight those androids!" and although he was getting the nods of approval from his peers, Goku's wife definitely wasn't sharing the same opinion.

Oolong glanced over at Chi-Chi only to open his eyes in surprise as he saw a blue aura of electricity outline her body. It made sense now, something was definitely bothering her, and it had to be Yamcha.

"Yeah. Even though he's still recovering, he's planning the big battle already!" he continued on. "Boy, Goku sure is something, huh?"

"Uhh... Yamcha... maybe you should-" the pig weakly said.

"Well? What do you think, am I right?"

"Heh. I wouldn't put it past Goku," Roshi replied.

"Yamcha!" Oolong spoke louder, getting his attention.

"Yeah? What?"

But it was too late. Chi-Chi's glare landed directly on Yamcha.

He had to save himself. Then he thought of something. "... D-Did I say battle? No I meant battling his condition! That's all!"

"If you think my Goku is going to fight anytime soon, you're sadly mistaken."

"Yeah, but Mom, Yamcha just said when he gets _better_-"

"That's enough, Gohan!" she snapped, stifling the rebellion before it even started. "My poor Goku is suffering and all you can think about is how soon he can help you!"

"Sorry..." Yamcha said with his head down low.

"So... he will not be fighting," she glanced between the four people in front of her. "Is that clear?"

A synchronized nod did the trick.

"Thank you. Now please KEEP QUIET!" she shouted, earning a sweat drop from Gohan, Yamcha, Roshi, Oolong, and even the house itself.

"Much better."

**X X X**

As for Cell, he had no time to lose. He knew even though he had covered a lot of ground from Ginger Town, he had to keep to staying on foot, or he was sure he would be caught. And without at least one of the androids, he wasn't sure he could handle all of them at once. He really was bluffing back there.

Finally coming to the edge of a valley, he jumped down onto a lone highway, coming to a stop as he glanced ahead towards the horizon. "These flaws in my body are intolerable! I can't believe Piccolo and Raditz were able to exhaust so much of my energy. And how that saiyan was able to sneak up on me like that... luckily he knew nothing about my true weaknesses. If I don't absorb those androids soon, these imperfections will be more than I can bear."

His eyes traced over to a sign, measuring 30 km towards the nearest city. On the right side was a smiling panda, sitting down with a piece of bamboo in its left hand.

"Hmmm... Nicky Town.." he thought out loud, ignoring the oncoming bus full of battle ball players heading towards him from behind. "Devouring these people should give me just the pick-me-up I need."

The driver of the bus, keeping his eyes on the road was surprised as he came up the hill to witness a large... green... cicada? Standing in the middle of the road? He yelled out as he dropped his cigarette from his mouth, slamming on the brakes with enough time to avoid a collision with the beast, though the bus ended up skidding and smacking its backside into one of the large rocks; several battle ball players fell over.

"Hey! Get out of the road!" he yelled from the bus as he opened the window.

_I just hope those androids can survive long enough for me to reach them..._ he thought, paying no mind to the accident he nearly caused by standing in the middle of the road.

"Last warning, you moron!" said the driver again. "Move it!"

_After all, if Piccolo and Raditz were able to slow ME down, who knows what they would be able to do to those lower-model droids... and if middle to lower-class fighters such as them are this powerful, I'd rather not imagine the inconvenience Vegeta or Goku could cause. I'll need to move quickly._

_**Honk! Honk! Honkhonkhonkhonkhonkhonk!**_

_I guess I'll just have to spend less time playing with my food..._

Finally annoyed by the hold up, several of the battle ball players began exiting the bus, taking it upon themselves to fix the problem.

"What's up, freak show?" The quarterback in the red shirt asked as he cracked his knuckles. "Why you holding us up from our game, buck-o?"

"Maybe he's a mascot who lost his team?" another played asked as they began to gather up together, laughing at the answers they made for themselves.

"Weirdo! Get off the road or we're gonna throw you off ourselves!" the quarterback threatened in his thick accent. After a few moments of nothing, "So, what's it gonna be, huh?"

He told himself he would spend less time playing with his food, but, the food found him. How could he not? He turned to the quarterback as he chuckled to himself. "Well, boys, after careful consideration I think I'll choose option two!"

In a blinding rush, his tail shot forward, and Cell landed on top of the bus as two of the players fell face first into the pavement. Dead on impact.

They couldn't believe it. Number 6 and 7 were their starting linemen. They were the better and stronger players on the team, how could they just go down like that? They were scared, but they were also, very, very angry now.

As they ran towards the bus, Cell back flipped, but the quarterback caught his movement just in time. "Blocking formation!"

Instantly the team was set up, three in the front, four in the back. They were down two men, but they could each bench well over four-hundred pounds. This guy was done for if they all ganged up on him.

Entertaining them, Cell simply flew forward, colliding with the team as he matched their strength. They were puny, worthless in his eyes, though they were rather powerful for humans. This would be a good snack for him.

**X X X**

Vegeta was close now. One power level left, but three other big powers had just landed. What had happened while he was venturing over? "That's strange," he said. "One of the power levels I was following seems to have disappeared. But I still sense the others. They can't be androids, they don't have power levels." he shook off the possibility of it being Raditz. The possibility of his former teammate being _that_ powerful was impossible for him to accept; he just had a lucky shot on him earlier. When this was over with, he was going to show him a thing or two about taking a fist to the prince.

**X X X**

"Ughhhh!" Piccolo snarled as his aura flared. "I can't... stand it! How could I have let him escape!"

The ground shook and Raditz almost fell back, barely caught by Raiza at the last second. "This was the power Trunks and I must have felt on the way over here... I thought it was you."

"No, not me," Raditz replied. "He's much stronger than I am right now, much as I hate to admit."

"I'LL FIND YOU, CELL," Piccolo screamed, sending fear into Krillin's heart and definite nervousness into the other three saiyans. "I'LL FIND YOUUUU!"

The amount of power that emerged was insane, even as far away as he was, Vegeta could feel it swell up and explode as if it was right in front of him. He stopped, even exiting his transformation.

But at that point, he was already there. Glancing down at... no, it couldn't be. The namek? _He_ was emitting that much power? He would have expected Raditz or his son to bring that kind of power out, or even Trunks. But Piccolo? It just didn't seem real to him.

Angered now that Piccolo finished powering up, Vegeta landed next to them, and he definitely wanted answers as he stepped towards him.

"Namek, I demand to know what happened here!"

As odd as it was, Piccolo was at a calm and submissive state now. "Alright, but let's wait till Tien gets here," he turned his back towards the others as he gazed towards the sky. "He should be here shortly."

"Well in the mean time, answer me this: Who are you, really? There's no way the _real_ Piccolo could have such incredible fighting power! I came here expecting Raditz, or his son, or even MY son, but instead, I find the namek?"

Piccolo just chuckled to himself.

"Ugh. Answer me, now!" he demanded.

"I'll tell you," Trunks cut in, catching his father's attention. "He needed to get stronger to fight the androids so he merged with Kami."

That made sense, but it still threw him off. "Piccolo merged with Kami?" _It seems too incredible to imagine! With that union, Piccolo has become more powerful than I am, even as a super saiyan! But that's impossible... he's nothing more than a mere Namek!_

"Huh," Krillin looked. "Hey, look, I can see Tien!"

The quick flash of light proved his observation correct as Tien touched down seconds later, no doubt surprised to see everyone.

_This situation seems hopeless... _Piccolo thought. _I'm not even sure if I'm powerful enough to defeat Androids 17 and 18, never mind 16... and that still leaves Cell!_

"Hey, Piccolo! I mean, Kami! Well that is, uh, ummm! ... Whoever you are, I'm trying to say that Tien is here!"

Annoyed, Piccolo turned back. "Krillin."

"Huh?"

Unexpectedly, Piccolo's voice was joined by a synchronization of Raditz' voice as well. "SHUT UP!" they both said.

"Oh, uh, sorry. Didn't realize I was interrupting something."

"Just call me Piccolo," he added on. "Now listen up," he glanced to Raditz, nodding as he began his briefing to the others. "What you're about to hear may determine whether you live, or die. Ever since Raditz and I arrived here in Ginger Town, we have been fighting a creature from the future. He in in fact an android created by Dr. Gero."

This was a surprise to everyone, except for Raditz and Piccolo. Raiza looked to his father for confirmation to if this was true, and his father said nothing and did not look at him. It was another way he said yes. And not the cheerful way, only used when he was absolutely serious about something.

**X X X**

Whoever took to the landscaping did a magnificent job, at least 18 thought so as they drove over a red brick bridge. Only a few clouds in the sky, it was warm out, generally the perfect kind of day to go on a date, or at least go shopping. But here she was, sitting in a van her brother and her stole.

Finally, 16 decided to open after hours of total focus, a smirk reaching across his face as a yellow feather that found its way into the van danced in front of his face. It really was beautiful, nature, life itself. His ideas were different from the two he traveled with. Once he killed Goku, he would probably wander, enjoy nature and just try to live a good life on his own. Of course he knew his temporary partners could pose a threat to that... not that he was worried about handling them on his own, though he would prefer to just sit under a tree on a nice day like this.

"I hope you know how much I hate this outfit," 18 said to her brother. The western outfit she took from the store was... definitely not her thing. "I look like a cowgirl. Do you think we'll have the time to find me something better?"

"I suppose," her brother calmly replied, keeping his eyes on the road. "Dressing to impress, 18?"

"Not really," she smirked, turning back to the road. "This just isn't my style. Never was one for western."

"If you say so. I remember you used to-"

He stopped, pretending like he never said anything, still keeping that confident smirk on his face as he continued to drive.

As for 18, she just looked at him. Did he just say what she thought he said?

"You remember I used to what?"

"Nothing. Forget I said anything," he quickly replied in a quiet manner. "Sounds to me like you're just trying to find something that'll show yourself off. That bulky outfit probably won't do much, we wouldn't want, what was his name again? Raiden?"

"Will you cut it out with that? I told you, I'm _not_ interested in him, and besides, he's dead," she scoffed, even though she knew he was alive. Knocking him out in the snow wasn't going to stop him, she just wasn't sure _where_ he was. And since he was on the other side... well, she just didn't want to have to fight what would be considered a friend for her.

"Right," he smirked. "If you say so, sis."

**X X X**

"... No way. Dad, is this true?" Raiza asked as he glanced between him and Piccolo.

"Do you think I would just break my own armor on purpose?" he coldly stared back. "This is not a joke, boy, you've seen worse."

"You're saying he possesses cells from Kakarot _and_ me?" Vegeta asked.

"We have two choices," Piccolo said. "We can either track down and destroy Cell, or find Android 17 and 18. Because if we destroy them, then Cell cannot absorb them. And if he can't absorb them, then he can't reach his final form."

After a brief pause, Raditz decided to put his opinion in. "I still think our best option is to find the androids first. We _know_ they're after my brother. We wait with my brother, the androids will come. We wait with the androids, Cell will come."

"Whatever we do," Piccolo added on. "We must do it quickly, because there'll be no stopping Cell once he's complete."

Vegeta just couldn't accept it. All this time, all this training, and so many have come and surpassed him like it was nothing. _This... cannot be happening! _he grunted as he clenched his fist. _Every time I reach a new level of strength, a new power appears to challenge my authority! It's as if fate is laughing at me with a big, stupid grin! ... Just like Kakarot._

"... And for that reason, he stole Trunks' time machine, and traveled here, where for the last four years he's been living underground... developing into the monster you saw today," he sighed. "There. So you see, this Cell will try to find the other androids at all costs. Uniting with them is the only way that he'll ever become complete."

"Great... just great. I guess it's up to us stop him, isn't it?" Krillin grumbled to himself. They really did have some of the worst luck.

"How do we find him now?" Trunks asked. "I mean if Cell knows Piccolo and Raditz are strong enough to beat him before he becomes complete, he'll probably try to keep his energy concealed from us."

"Well, we better figure _something_ out before he finds those androids," Tien added on. "Or I'll tell you what, guys, we're going to be in big trouble."

"And not just us, Tien," Piccolo said. "This monster is a danger to every planet in the universe. Remember, Frieza and Frieza's father are both a part of Cell now, he can travel anywhere he wants to if he wipes this planet out."

"Big deal!" Vegeta scoffed. "I say LET HIM become complete! If Cell destroys the androids he'll save ME the trouble. And fighting one battle is much simpler than fighting four," he grunted. "I don't care how powerful he becomes, I'll still beat him."

"Hold on, Vegeta," Piccolo replied. There went that ego, right on time. "The androids ALONE were more than we could handle. And if Cell absorbs their power, he'll be stronger than all of them combined."

Androids this, too powerful this. More than we could handle that. Vegeta was about to explode, who was he to tell him what he could or could not handle? "DO NOT question my ability, Namek!" he shouted. "Not unless you want to find out how powerful I really am!" he glared towards Raditz, not forgetting their little confrontation. "And after I'm done with him, there will be a special session for your betrayal, you lower-class slime."

Raiza stepped next to his father, growling as his tail clung to his waist. His father wasn't rested right now, if Vegeta really went through with it, he'd have to step in and help his father. And at the moment, he'd have no problem doing it. He was stronger than Vegeta, he knew he was.

"Raiza," Raditz said. "That's enough, son."

"Father?"

"He isn't going to do anything. We don't have the men to spare," he smirked. "And I'm a lot more valuable to him alive than I am dead, and he knows it."

"I do not fear this new challenge," Vegeta stated to everyone. "Rather, like a true warrior, I will rise to meet it. Yes, I am now a super saiyan, but I won't stop there. I will ascend!"

After the others gave him their odd looks, he decided it was time to explain his bold statement. "I'm sure Kakarot will try to do the same. Even Raditz and his boy must have the craving to achieve such a high power. Don't you think?"

They just looked at him. What was he trying to prove? Was there a point to all this?

"Now, if any of you would like to take on Cell or the androids while I'm away, be my guest. I'll be back to finish the job once you failed."

And in a split second, his blue aura flared, and he was off like a rocket, dipping into the horizon. Vegeta was gone once again.

"Sometimes he really gets on my nerves," Piccolo said to break the silence.

"Try serving with him for almost twenty years straight," Raditz added on. "This is nothing, I assure you. He was far worse than we were with Frieza."

"He's going to try to surpass a super saiyan?" the namek wondered. "Is that really possible?"

"Hey Trunks," Krillin said.

"Huh?"

"Explain this to me again? Tell me what would happen if we went back in time and destroyed the androids before they woke up?"

"Well. It might help the future of _that_ world. But it wouldn't change anything that's already happened here."

"So if that's how that time travel stuff works," Krillin had something, he just needed to hear that from Trunks. At least he had a brain, albeit he had little brawn at this point in time. "Then it wouldn't do us any good to destroy Cell back in Gero's lab... Right? It wouldn't affect the Cell from the future now would it?"

"Right," he nodded. "Not the Cell from my world. But at the very least we should try and prevent a Cell from ever being born into this world."

"All right," Piccolo cut in. "Listen up. You two go to Dr. Gero's lab if you think it will help. I'll stay here and try to track down Cell."

"Right, I'll give you a hand," Tien replied.

"Hey guys," Raiza cut in. "Do we have any more Senzu Beans?"

The others were surprised to see Raditz passed out, hunched over on his son's shoulders like a sack of potatoes. It figured, the exhaustion of the fight easily wore him out, and Piccolo took his only Senzu Bean.

"No, I don't think so," Piccolo replied. "You better take your dad to Korin's Tower and see if there are any left. We need Raditz back on his feet as soon as possible."

"Yeah," he nodded.

"You know, if you guys can't find Cell, you should head back to Master Roshi's. I mean if nothing else, you might be able to find him on the TV news stations," Krillin suggested.

"Yeah, good idea," Tien replied.

"Ready?" Krillin asked the group.

Trunks nodded, and they were gone.

As for Raiza, he nodded at Piccolo before flaring up a white aura. "Hey, Piccolo."

"Hm?"

"Thanks for watching my father's back."

"Raditz saved _my_ life. I should be thanking him," he replied. It was the truth.

"Yeah. Well, you still played your part. I'll bring him back once we get some more beans. Hope you guys find him soon, and if you need any help... just raise your power level."

"Right," the namek replied again. "You better get going, Raiza. We don't want anything to happen to Raditz right now when we need all the help we can get."

"Just one more thing," he said as he lifted off a few feet from the ground. "If you find the androids..."

Piccolo and Tien just stared at him. What was he going to ask?

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'll catch up with you guys soon," he scratched his head, a nervous laugh escaping as he blasted off towards the lookout.

With everyone gone, the only thing Piccolo and Tien could do now is look for Cell. With everyone else gone, though, it would be hard to keep an eye on everyone's energy. If something was happening in two places... no, he didn't dwell on it. He had work he needed to do.

And he just hoped Goku would wake up so he could help him out soon.

**End Chapter 21**

**Wooooooo, man, this one was a doozy. Hope you guys enjoyed the fight with Cell. Now as you can tell, we're right in the cross from the Android Saga into the Cell Saga. Things are definitely going to get interesting! I've got something fun planned for the later chapters, for everyone who's been sticking around, I'll do my best not to disappoint. Thanks so much for the feedback on my last chapter, it's nice to see people still want to see this story pull through... and it will! Anyway, please review and I'll see you next time! -PD**


	22. Chapter 22

**You know, I've had this chapter finished for like 2 weeks. I've just had zero time to upload it. I'd come home from work, eat, then crash out. Wake up, school, workout, work, go home, eat, then repeat. But the good thing is, I've got good things coming your way, so your patience will definitely be rewarded! Now then, hope you enjoy!**

He felt like he was going the right way. His father's weight and all the flying he had done took a lot more energy out of him than he expected. Finally, relief set in as Raiza's eyes set on Korin's Tower. Or at least the long pole reaching up to it. He quickly flew upwards, keeping a tight grip on Raditz's waist. A few seconds later, he found himself at the top, stepping down inside.

"I'm gonna lay you down, Dad, okay?"

Raditz said nothing, but Raiza felt better at least by saying something to him. He laid him down on a solid stone bench and glanced around. He'd never actually _met_ Korin, but he knew where his place was.

"Hello? Korin? Is anyone here?"

"Hm. I haven't seen this guy in a while."

On reaction, Raiza turned, ki blast loaded as the blue ball of energy was pointed in the face of a narrow-eyed white cat, walking staff and all.

"Oh, I-"

"You might want to be careful with how you point that, junior. I assume you know this gentleman?"

"Yes, that's my father. My name's Raiza, Kaka- err, I mean, _Goku_ is-."

"Your uncle. Yes, I'm quite aware of you two even though we've never met," he lightly poked Raditz with his staff. The armor was still pretty tough considering how damaged it was. "I see Raditz here found Cell."

"Yeah, him and Piccolo. He told me to bring my father here in case you had any Senzu Beans, he really needs one."

"Well you're in luck, because one is all I have," he waddled away from Raditz, signaling Raiza to follow him into another room. "I swear, you guys are gonna run the whole stock of these babies dry one day."

"Sorry, heh, we just can't get a break from the looks of it."

"It's always been bad, don't sweat it, I'm just cranky no one comes to visit me anymore unless it's for food or Senzu Beans."

A few moments later, Raiza glanced at a small row of potted plants, the vines not the healthiest he had seen, but he figured these were the ones he was looking at. They had to be the plants for the Senzu Beans.

"And... where is it," Korin thought as he glanced around. "Ah, here we go. You're in luck, there's another one. Take both just in case."

Raiza held his hand out as the cat dropped them in, closing his fist and placing them inside his armor. "Thanks, Korin."

"Yeah, yeah, just don't get yourselves killed."

Just seconds later he was at his father's side. His stillness didn't sit well with him, even though he could hear him breathing. Picking his head up, he slid a bean into his mouth, motioning his jaw to chew and finally tilting his head back so he could swallow it.

Raditz's eyes shot open as he felt an enormous rush of energy hit him. Even more than usual. He sat up, rubbing his head as he noticed his son at his side. "Where are we?"

"Korin's Tower. Piccolo told me to get you a Senzu Bean," he quickly replied.

"I see."

But he looked around, trying to sense out other energy signatures. "Where is everyone else? Where's Cell?"

"He's gone, Dad. Piccolo and the others are looking for him."

He shook his head before standing up. "Fools. They won't find him, he'll just mask himself... wasting their energy flying around searching for him when we should be waiting for the androids with Kakarot."

Then, an idea hit. "Son."

"Huh?"

"We need to use this window of time to our advantage," he stated, his face still as he hopped over the railing, floating right outside the tower. "Let's go."

"Huh? Go where?"

"We're going to get you a year's worth of training in one day."

"Huh?" then it hit him, that's what his father did when he came back so he could be brought up to speed with the others. "Wait, but the others. What if Cell-"

"Listen, boy! Don't you think I know what I'm doing?" he growled. "We cannot reach the others right now. They're far too spread apart, and Cell is only going to get stronger every second the green man and the others continue to search for him."

"But-"

"Cell is stronger than I am. He's stronger than the green man, and I assure you he's stronger than Vegeta, his son, Kakarot, AND you. So to follow him while he only gets stronger is meaningless. Rather than wait for the androids at Kakarot's home, they're going to chase him until he becomes too powerful. Then he'll simply absorb them, take the androids, and become complete!"

It seemed harsh what his father was suggesting, but he did have a point. The amount of time they would spend looking for the others, the androids could find Goku. And if they searched for Cell, it would only be a matter of time before the cities he absorbs give him enough power to kill the others.

"So then we... train in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber?"

Raditz nodded. "It's our best option. Just like you said, we need to use a great thing like this conservatively. I've already used it once, you've yet to use it. If we use it now, we might be able to beat Cell before he gets to the androids."

"What about if he gets to them? What if we take that one day off and he gets them?"

"Then you go back and use it again. A year's worth of training in one day is a luxury you better not pass up, no son of mine won't!"

There he went, talking like a soldier acting in ways that would only benefit his survival. But it made sense; his uncle was still down, Vegeta wasn't strong enough, neither were the others. If they could somehow stay alive...

"Okay. Let's do it."

Raditz nodded before his aura flared around him, shooting up towards the Lookout. Raiza quickly jumped off of the ledge, flying up after him.

_I gotta be strong enough to beat Cell before he takes 17 and 18. If I can find a way to deactivate them... maybe I can find a way to return their memories to normal. Or we could use the Dragon Balls to- Wait, they're useless now since Kami fused with Piccolo! This is bad... but my father's right._

**X X X**

The Lookout was lonely since Kami had left with Piccolo. Mr. Popo simply tended to the garden, leaving the staff on the throne, his own little homage to his old friend.

He turned as two high powers landed onto the white marble of his home, and he instantly knew what it was for, and who it was.

"Hello Raditz, Raiza, how can I help you?" he politely asked.

"We need to use the Hyperbolic Time Chamber," Raditz outrightly said. "We have no time to debate this issue. Cell defeated the gree- I mean, Cell defeated Piccolo and I. The others are searching for him, my son and I are going to use this opportunity to train so we can face him."

"Are you sure? What if-"

"Listen, genie! We don't have time to play 'what if' when that freak is sucking the world dry. He's growing strong with every single person he drains, and I know for a fact that the others do _not_ stand a chance against him. Imagine, if he takes just ONE of the androids. Who will stand up to him then?"

Not waiting for a response, he shoved himself past Mr. Popo, Raiza giving an apologetic glance as they made their way to the chamber.

"Shouldn't you put something new on, Father? That armor is pretty banged up."

"I'll worry about my look once we're done," he replied, getting closer to the door. He wasn't sure how his son would handle it. He wasn't sure how he was able to handle it back when he was as weak as he was. And this would be the first time doing anything with another person, at least it would keep him sane.

Turning around, he gave his son a stern look. "The gravity here is harsher, and the air is thin, hot, as well. One year will pass inside, and only one day will pass out here. We will train for a full twenty-four hours, then rest for two. Then we will do it again, and rest for three hours after. On a day I choose, you will not rest at all and continue to train for another twenty-four hours. We will continue to do this to build your ability to handle working with little to no rest, that way when you actually _have_ rest, you will be fully prepared."

"I already know this, we used to do this all the time," he replied, wondering why his father was acting as if he had never served missions with him in horrible climates and even worse conditions.

"Ah," he smirked. "But you don't know the conditions I'm applying. You're going to be in your super saiyan form the entire time."

"What?" he gasped. "B-But, my head-"

"Enough," he snapped. "We're going in. Come on, the sooner we do this, the sooner we can stop Cell."

"Right..." he just figured he'd go along with it, but whenever he transformed, he could feel his head splitting. But with Vegeta, his father, and his uncle, it was nothing. He didn't even think Trunks experienced that type of pain. Maybe his father was working on getting rid of it, though he wasn't sure how he was going to.

**X X X**

He had to try and control his breathing, he just wasn't used to it yet. Even a pitter-patter step from his boots echoed tremendously. But ahead of him... there was nothing.

"Stay close to the home. The last thing you want is to get lost in a sea of nothingness," his father said. "Now then, I'm going to explain something to you, and then I'm going to ask you a question."

"Huh?" Raiza turned around. "What is it?"

His wind was gone as he quickly tried to gasp for more. His father's fist was excruciatingly powerful, and he wasn't even a super saiyan. "I can't begin to express how utterly disappointed I am in you!"

"Wh-What? What did I do?" he cringed, only to be met with the splitting of skin in his lip as a knee sent him flopping back several feet onto the white floor.

"You accomplished so much, became so strong, but you folded it into near nothingness! All for a female!"

Raiza quickly took a stance, unsure of what to do. He didn't want to fight his father, even if he felt he was stronger than him, he was a soldier of well over thirty years. "I don't know what you're talking about!" he spat out a glob of spit combined blood onto the floor. "There isn't anyone! I'm just trying to stay alive like you and the others."

"Do not LIE TO ME!" Raditz screamed.

Before Raiza could even predict it, two, three, four, and five punches landed across his face and chest, planting him onto the floor. It felt like cement, this minor gravity was doing more to him than he thought. His father's foot came down harsh on his chest, pressing down. What was happening? Why was he doing this? It didn't make sense to him.

"I can smell it on you. It reeks, and you would lie straight to my face? You're as strong as I am, I'm confident that when you make two trips you'll be so far ahead of me you could face Cell without any sort of problem, even if he did become complete! But you're letting such simple and useless emotions cloud your potential that he would defeat you in a mere second!"

"I don't- wait!" he stopped. How could his father smell it on him. It hit him so quickly and suddenly.

Was it... her?

"No, it can't be," he said out loud to himself, his father's boot pressing down further.

"You would lie to yourself now? Then you have no business training with me," his palm opened, a magenta ki ball forming towards his face. "You have no business fighting at all. Such weak and unorganized emotions have made you beyond soft. If I cannot have my son back then I will train alone!"

"Father I'm trying to think, but I can't even picture this person as the one! She... I don't even know her, she's an-"

"An enemy! A FUCKING enemy!" he snarled, the beam expanded as the heat began to draw sweat from Raiza's forehead. "Where is your sense? Where is your pride?"

"I don't know!" he cried.

"You threw it away the moment you marked her to be your mate!"

"No I didn't!"

"Stop lying!" he shouted.

"I'm not lying!" he screamed back.

"You're going to lose your mind when she's sucked up by Cell, when you knew you could never be with someone like that to begin with! What a USELESS waste of time and energy!"

"NO!"

Raiza's energy exploded so quickly, Raditz was knocked back, struggling to keep his footing as he barely held himself to the ground with his feet. Raiza was on his feet, transformed, his tail violently flailing about.

"I'm not going to let her be eaten by anything," he snorted. "I'm going to train this entire year, and when I come out, I'm going to kill Cell before he can hurt either of them!"

Raditz smirked. Good, he thought, now he can work on pushing that emotion to the side. He wasn't about to let his emotion get the best of him, but if he didn't get it out, he wouldn't be able to contain it.

"Good. Now you're going to completely forget about her."

His eyebrows quirked up. What did he say?

"What? Father, you can't-"

"I can't what?" he growled, transforming right before him in a larger aura than his son. Even without his tail, he was still a scary opponent. "I'm trying to save your life, boy! And you want to give into foolish emotions that will get you killed? From a machine incapable of harvesting similar feelings!"

"They're not machines! They were people at one point, why don't you understand that?" he snapped back.

"I understand plenty! It was _my_ feelings that..." he spit, almost let that one slip.

Too late. "What? Your feelings that what?"

"Nothing, forget I said it. I'm doing you a favor. The only way to reach your limits and beyond is to focus on _nothing_ but your opp-"

"Is this about Mom? Is that it? You're trying to keep me from getting emotional because YOU got her ki-"

Raiza was on the ground before he knew it, eyes facing the pure white sky of the chamber as a throbbing sensation came into his left cheek. He shouldn't have asked that, but he felt he had a right to know. His father was pressing him for information on someone he didn't even know, why couldn't he?

"You have a lot of nerve speaking out like that. If you weren't my own son I would have _erased_ you out of existence," he growled.

"Why? She's MY mother! I never knew her like you did! I didn't even know her at all!" he grunted, pulling himself up before his father snap-vanished in front of him.

"You're wasting your time. I'm not discussing this, not now. Now get up, we don't have any time to lose. As it is we're going behind everyone else's backs. They probably still think we're looking for Cell," Raditz said as he offered his son a hand.

"Dad, come on!" he cried. "Is that _really_ why you want me to forget about her? You think she's going to make me weak? I'm stronger than Vegeta, I can beat Cell!"

"No. You can't," he sighed, though he was excited to see his boy willing to fight. "Not right now. You're strong, but loose. There are key fundamentals you were never taught when you were growing up, and I could not teach you them because we were never given proper time to train together."

"Just tell me what happened to Mom!"

His demand echoed, twice, three times, four, five... and then a sixth, each time slowly growing in faintness. And each time, a piece of his last moments with her came back.

He sat, crossing his legs as his son sat across from him as he returned to his base form, his son doing the same. "Fine. I'll tell you what I can remember."

_Flashback_

"_Your majesty, we have purged planet Mignon and all of its inhabitants in only one short day."_

_King Vegeta sat at his throne as he glanced at a 15 year old Raditz, accompanied by a female saiyan, slightly older than him, no more than in her early twenties._

"_Interesting. Perhaps I was wrong to make the time to purge so long. I asked for three days, you did it in one. Good work, Raditz, Kosho. I will have your cut directly deposited into your accounts by the end of the day. If there is nothing else, you are dismissed."_

"_Yes, your majesty," they both replied before leaving._

_Finally exiting the chamber, Kosho turned to Raditz. "Hey, I'm gonna go pick up Raiza. Plenthor said he was healthy enough to bring back, at least until they send him off."_

"_What? Why? You'll just see him for one or two days at most and then he'll be gone for years until he comes back," he frowned. He was plenty happy to have bedded his older and incredibly attractive partner, but he wasn't expecting to father a child so early. But she seemed to like it, making Raditz think maybe she wasn't just interested in just fun after all. Women confused him. _

_She was the same height as he was, black and spiky hair falling down to her shoulders, a strand covering her blue scouter. She leaned in, kissing him before giving his bottom lip a slight tug. "I know. Just think about all the free time you and I will have while our son is off on his first mission."_

_If they weren't in the King's palace, he would have planted her to the ground and taken her right there. But he simply watched as she walked off, knowing he would see her in a couple of hours._

"_Hey, funny seeing you here right now."_

_Raditz turned around, the teenager's smile lit up at the sight of his father standing just a few feet away from him._

"_Father."_

"_Good to see you, son. You just get back?" Bardock asked, rubbing the back of his neck. He was a bit scoffed up, and a little dirty, but had a relatively easy mission._

"_Yes. Kosho is picking up our son now."_

"_Son? Raditz, I didn't know you had already claimed her and had a child," he laughed, patting his shoulder. "But then again, you are my son. Congradulations. What'd you name him?"_

"_Raiza."_

"_Raiza? Like after the late Colonel Raiza?" his father asked. Colonel Raiza was a glorified saiyan warrior who never lost a battle once in his life on the field, praised by even King Vegeta himself. He recently passed from lung cancer due to his heavy tobacco use._

"_Yes, that was Kosho's father. I wasn't going to get in her way, even though they had already told her they had picked a name out. She wasn't having it," he chuckled._

"_I see. She looked familiar. Anyway, I wanted to let you know your mother is back home with your brother, you should go see them before you leave. They delayed his departure... something about a new solar system they discovered they want to send him to. Place called E-arth, I don't know."_

"_What? When did mother-"_

"_It's been a while, remember? Years, actually," Bardock smirked. "Don't worry, she'll be here for a little while. I'm about to head out, team's got another purging assignment. When I get back, if you're still here, I'd like to meet your son. It's nice to know I'm already a grandpa."_

_Raditz nodded. "Sure. Take care, father."_

"_You, too."_

_**X X X**_

_The past few years were good on Vegeta's economy, even with Frieza's tight grip on it. As Raditz walked home, he stopped by the central bank to claim his cut from the mission. His wallet was actually full, almost tough to close._

_Finally home, a simple thumb print unlocked the door and he stepped in._

_At the table to his right, his partner, and mate, sat as she attempted to spoon feed an infant Raiza. The baby would wait until the spoon was near it, flail his arms and knock the spoon over and cackle in victory. His mother grunted, he definitely inherited her rebellious genes._

"_Not eating?" Raditz asked as he leaned against the wall next to the door._

"_They said he could eat again, but he keeps teasing me whenever I get food close to him," Kosho frowned, leaving the spoon in the food container again._

_Raditz smirked, clicking his scouter to scan his son's power level. Not that he was expecting much, he was third-class, his mate a high-ranking second-class fighter. His mate's power came up, though he already knew she was much stronger than he was. 2,800, but what shocked him was his son..._

"_108," he said. "That's... incredible."_

_Kosho smiled as she nodded her head. "Yeah. Plenthor told me he's likely to rank very high if he makes it out of his first mission."_

"_When is he scheduled for departure?"_

"_Two days."_

_Raditz took a seat in front of the infant Raiza. They merely stared at each other. He looked so much like him facially, but his hair style was much like his mother's, just not as long. After a while, Raiza blinked, then giggled, leaving Raditz in confusion._

"_Hey. What's so funny?" he grunted._

"_Aw, come on, Raditz, he's just a baby," she smiled._

_Reaching for the spoon his mate left behind, he filled it with the mashed up food and held it to his son. "No more games, boy. Eat."_

_Raiza simply cackled again, waving his arms around without a care in the world. This wasn't going to work, Raditz had to figure out how he was going to feed this child without him swinging the food away._

_Taking his left hand, he reached for another spoon in the drawer next to him. Slowly, he moved it towards Raiza's mouth, and as expected, he laughed and swatted the spoon away._

_He had him now. The right spoon went forward, and straight into his mouth as Raiza glanced with a look of shock at his father before swallowing the food._

"_Heh. Not so clever now, are you?" Raditz boasted._

"_Ugh. Raditz, he's a baby," Kosho rolled her eyes._

_Raditz's scouter beeped to life as a transmission awaited his approval. He clicked it, "This is Raditz."_

"_Raditz, this is General Nappa. We've got a situation. I need you to report to the barracks, second block immediately, I'll explain there. And come alone, do not bring your partner with you."_

"_What? What's going on?"_

"_Hey! Did you not hear what I said? Get your tail over here before I charge you with AWOL!" the general shouted, ending the transmission._

"_Who was that?" Kosho asked, sitting on Raditz's lap as she ran a hand through the back of his head in the thickness of his hair._

"_Nappa needs me over at the barracks. He... wants me to come alone."_

"_Aww, some more macho man talk?" she giggled, rubbing the back of his neck softly. "That guy's always been an asshole."_

"_He's still an asshole I need to respect. Somewhat, anyway," he sighed. He could tell she wanted to have fun, but being late to anything was always met with severe consequences. He never caught a break, even when he was younger. "I'll be back."_

_Kosho sighed, rolling her eyes as she gave him a simple peck on the lips as she hopped off. "Alright. Need to get some sleep anyway."_

_Raditz frowned. He knew she wasn't happy that he just turned her down, and he probably wouldn't be getting any when he got back, but he had his hands tied._

_**X X X**_

_The sliding door opened as Zarbon stepped through. "Lord Frieza."_

"_Zarbon, I know I taught you how to knock," the tyrant coldly stated. _

"_Of course, forgive me, sire. I have an urgent update on Planet Mignon, the latest planet purged by the saiyans."_

"_Ah, yes," Frieza turned in his chair, focusing his attention on his lieutenant now. "Please, report, Zarbon."_

"_It appears that... Count Dani's radio transmissions were undamaged prior to the saiyans attack. We have reason to believe that-"_

_Frieza held his finger up, causing Zarbon to freeze immediately. His body language told him he was about to explode if he didn't choose his next words carefully. _

"_I certainly hope you don't mean to tell me those filthy monkeys found the data on what we had planned for the Mingon race."_

"_I..."_

"_That's enough, Zarbon," Frieza smirked. "How many saiyans were sent to Mignon? A simple team of two, correct?"_

"_Yes, my lord. A lower-class saiyan by the name of Raditz and a second-class female saiyan named Kosho."_

"_I see," he sat in thought. The Mignon people were just as strong as they were smart, their weakest warriors averaging with powers starting from 10,000, with their elites holding powers nearly equal to Captain Ginyu. Appearing saiyan-like, though lacking in tails and much, much stronger. They were his muscle before the saiyans, and as he slowly pushed them out of employment, he had his intelligence group inform him of a likely uprising. It wouldn't have been pretty, as Count Dani alone was reported to have a power level of over 6,000,000. He could have handled him alone in his final form, but the damage he could do to his army would be staggering. It was smarter and much cleaner this way, that way no one would ever know what happened._

_And what better than to defeat your opponents before they can even mass an army against you. By simply poisoning their water supply, even the Count himself was weaker than a saibaman. But if the information was not destroyed, and if someone was to get a hold of it, things would become very messy, very quickly._

"_Dodoria," Frieza calmly stated. "Send a report to our dear friend General Nappa."_

"_Of course," he bowed. "What would you like me to tell him?"_

"_Inform him that our people have intel on a possible traitor within his military. And tell him that we know just who it might be."_

"_Right away, Lord Frieza."_

_**X X X**_

"_I told you, I don't know anything about that!" Raditz growled. How was he supposed to know that he would be walking into an interrogation?_

"_Really? Because we've got a very coincidental message concerning intel that you and your partner may have picked up while on Mignon. Information that could put the entire planet at risk!" Nappa growled, gripping his desk. "Do you have **any**__idea what kind of risk this puts Planet Vegeta in? When King Vegeta hears about this, he'll-"_

"_Then we should take care of it! I'll help, because I'm NOT a traitor!"_

"_Good, and if you are, we'll find out very quickly and you'll be easily dealt with," the general smirked. "First things first, I want you to pick up your partner and bring her here. Sooner we crack open this intel she has the quicker Frieza will get off our backs. Dismissed."_

"_Yes sir."_

_**X X X**_

_Kosho, finally putting Raiza to bed sat in the small room, reaching into her armor as she pulled out a small circle. Pressing the button, it whirred to life, projecting a light towards the wall._

_Quickly, the image of a man appeared. He was old, wearing a long and ragged brown cape and flowing white hair past his back, though the dust and smoke around him had clearly dirtied it. He leaned on what appeared to be a computer, gripping his side as his native language was translated into hers._

"_Da qwuesh und itzsolukuvas Frieza. Frieza det yuventska oryuta af genocidar-"_

"_Replay with translation," she said._

"_We should have never trusted Frieza. Frieza meant to commit genocide all along! When he found a weaker species, easier to bend to his will, the saiyans! Bah! The Mignons, my people, we knew of this, and we devised a plan to defeat Frieza and free the galaxy of his tyrannical grip. But we had a mole within our government. Someone was working on the inside, he somehow found out. Now my men and I, we cannot fight. We are dying. We are cursed. Somebody... poisoned us, destined to die by these two saiyans purging the planet now. My only wish, is that-"_

_The transmission quickly cut out after that, relaying nothing but static. She had spent hours trying to crack the device, thinking the information on their planet to help the PTO was locked away tightly. She never thought for a second that... "Oh god, what did we do?"_

_Sliding the intel into her armor, she couldn't wait. King Vegeta had to see this right away. She picked Raiza up from his crib and made her way out._

_Dropping her son off at a local daycare, she had a cold feeling about what was about to happen. The skies were... unusually clear. The hustle and bustle of the city was quiet, almost as if everyone had gone to sleep, or at least gone home._

_She wasted no time as she progressed to the castle. It was on sight, she just hoped the King would believe her._

_Unaware of it, Raditz was far behind her, watching her. He poked his head out from behind a wall, tapping his scouter. "This is Raditz. I found her."_

"_Nappa here, what's the status?"_

"_Looks like she's heading towards the castle, no doubt intending to deliver the intel. I'll keep an eye out and keep you updated. Raditz out."_

"_Roger. I've got info saying the Ginyu Force are here on Vegeta planning on finding the intel, I guess Frieza is impatient. Look, I don't want those guys getting their hands on it first. Make SURE you get it first and bring it back to me!"_

_He logged off the transmission, frowning as he began to follow his mate. "The Ginyu Force... not good."_

_**X X X**_

"_Excuse me, but could you repeat that?" A saiyan guard asked._

_Kosho was running out of patience. She had to get to the King and tell him everything. She couldn't have the guards stopping her at the front gate. "I have information that could seriously put Vegeta at risk! You have to let me see the King!"_

"_You'll have to wait. King Vegeta is in a private meeting with Lord Frieza."_

"_WHAT?" she shouted. "I don't have time for this, let me through!"_

"_Alright bitch, I've been nice enough," he scoffed, tapping his scouter. "Yeah, A-2? I've got a civi- AGH!"_

_The guard was dead the moment he hit the floor, Kosho wasting no time as she bolted past him. So what, she'd get in trouble for killing a guard weaker than her mate? She was about to save the planet from Frieza, that had to overlap her crimes somehow, someway._

_She couldn't fly up to the next floors, they'd be all over her when their scouters go off. Lucky for her, the elaborate decoration left ample room for scaling. With a high jump, she gripped the edge of a window, flipping her legs up to kick the window in as she flipped through, landing on the cracking glass._

_Her eyes landed on a pair of upper-class saiyans. They spotted her. Great, this was going to be a pain. A cloud of shattered glass was thrown at them, and a few swipes later left them planted on the ground._

_She kept moving, leaving the bodies behind. Awesome, she was killing her own people to get to the King in order to save them. Can you say oxymoron? She finally ended at the back of the hallway, pulling back on the double door as the large creak alerted everyone who may have been listening that somebody was entering._

_But the lobby was empty, even the thrones were left unattended. What was going on?_

"_Kosho!"_

_She looked up on the balcony above her. Jumping down from the edge of it and landing on the ground, was Raditz. "Raditz?" she glanced at him, wondering how he knew she was here. "What are you doing here?"_

"_The whole city is on alert when they found the body of that guard outside," he sighed. "The Royal Family has been moved because they're saying a terrorist is attacking the palace! I'm assuming **you're** that person?"_

"_Raditz! This isn't some kind of joke!" she snapped back. "If I don't get this information to King Vegeta, the whole planet could be in danger!"_

"_What? What are you talking about? That information **puts** us in danger! We've got experts that-"_

"_They're lying! I saw this first-hand when I played it. The Mignon people? Their weakest fighters had an AVERAGE power level of 10,000! And we were swatting their elites like flies when we were there, think about it! The Filet Mignons? Frieza's elite squad before replacing them with the Ginyu Force? We killed them with ease! We're not that great of fighters, not enough to face the Mignons; they're far above our league. Think about it!"_

_It made sense. He remembered his father would tell him stories when he was younger about how before the saiyans were used in Frieza's army that the Mignons would need only one person to wipe out an entire planet. A small strike team could take out an entire solar system in less than a day. They were frightfully powerful._

_So then, what happened? They attacked their home planet, and they were hardly a challenge. Even the Filet, their most prized warriors were decimated by him and Kosho with ease._

"_**The Filet Mignons?" Bardock thought at the question asked by his son. "Oh yeah, I ran into that team back when I was returning from a mission. They used to be what the Ginyu Force are now to Frieza."**_

"_**What were they like?" seven year old Raditz asked.**_

"_**Quiet, kept to themselves... and not friendly. But strong. Very, very strong."**_

"_**How strong?"**_

"_**Let's just say their weakest fighter, Red, could have turned the entire Ginyu Force inside out without breaking a sweat. Their leader was Count Dani, but he retired since he was getting old. Even still, he's rumored to be one of the strongest fighters in the universe. Lucky for us they keep to themselves, I'd hate to have to fight one of them, heh."**_

_He remembered fighting them. They wore saiyan armor, but it was harder, tougher, and their black berets separated them from the normal soldiers. Yet they were massacred in the blink of an eye. How?_

"_Show me the intel," he calmly asked._

"_No," she replied, stepping back._

"_What? Why?"_

"_Raditz, you're with them. They got to you, I know they did, how else would you have found me?"_

"_Don't be absurd! You're my-"_

"_Your what? Your whore? Is that why you don't want to do anything else but fuck? You don't even want to spend time with your own son, you bastard!" she cried, back against the door now. She didn't want to fight Raditz, but she knew she could beat him if she needed to. And if she had to, kill him._

"_This has nothing to do with that! This is global security you're putting us at risk for! If you would show me the information then I could verify it and we would be out of this mess! They think **I'm** a traitor just because I'm your partner, I'm here to clear both of our names! Why don't you get that?" he growled. She was always stubborn, but this was beyond ridiculous. He had to do something, there were elites set up and suppressing their powers at the moment. If they saw him losing control, they were going to take her out, and he could never forgive himself if something like that happened. Never mind he had caught a glimpse of Captain Ginyu speaking to King Vegeta. It was only a matter of time before they got here and take the intel._

_He could see it in her eyes. The normally calm and sassy look she always carried was replaced by fear, paranoia, betrayal. A complete change in her, he almost didn't recognize her._

_He had one last option. He just hoped this would work._

_His tail released from his waist. Slowly, he stepped towards her, keeping one hand raised and one hand on his tail. "Activate the intel, I'll let you hold my tail. There's no way I can fight back or make any sort of move on you if you have my tail."_

_She was stronger than he was, anyway, but this showed he was at least serious. For now. She had to be careful._

_She stepped towards him, he nodded to her as she took a firm grip on his tail. Immediately, Raditz winced in pain, falling to his knees as his fists held him up off of the floor. "Okay, okay, you've- agh, you've got me. Now please, show me so we can clear this mess up."_

_He was right, she had him completely in the palm of her hands. With her left hand, she reached into her armor, slowly pulling the small circle out as Raditz finally laid eyes on it. To think, this little thing had caused so much trouble._

_Until Raditz's scouter went off. "A-7 here, I've got a visual on the intel, taking the shot."_

"_What?" Raditz shouted. "No, you fool! What are you-"_

_His chin was met with a harsh kick as he flew back, landing on his back with a hard thud. "I knew you were full of shit, Raditz! I trusted you! How could you betray me like this? We had a son together, you bastard!"_

"_Kosho! Wait!" he called, getting to his feet, but she was already out of the double doors, her footsteps no longer soft and stealthy, but hard and bent on getting as far away as fast as possible._

_**BANG **_

_Raditz's heart stopped. Everything became deathly quiet. _

_But he knew._

"_NO!" he shouted, rushing to the doors as he slammed them open. Glancing to the right was a blue aura of ki flying off. Raditz took a quick gathering of ki before firing off a round towards it. He got away, and he knew it wasn't a saiyan; what saiyan could fly THAT fast? The Ginyu Force beat them to it, Frieza had the intel now._

_And there she was. Lying still in the midst of the hallway in a warm pool of expanding blood._

"_A-7 here, I've got shots fired-"_

_Raditz tuned out everything at this point. He knelt at her side, her head was limp, a small hole found its way straight through her chest._

"_-shots fired in the main hallway, very high unidentified power level taking off- damn it's fast! Heading northwest, over?" the radio kept ringing, but Raditz ignored it._

"_No, no, no, no, no. Kosho... Kosho, listen to me," he said, his eyes red from holding back his emotions, but it was getting too hard. "Kosho... I'm so sorry. I never wanted-"_

_He was taken aback as her hand slowly crept up to his cheek, not worrying about the blood that ran from her fingers onto his cheek._

"_I'm... sorry. Raditz... you-"_

"_Stop talking," he growled, tears breaking the damn as they flowed down his face. "You need to save your strength. If we hurry, we can still find a reju-"_

"_No... It's... a little late for that," she weakly smiled. "But you're sweet, kid... I always liked that about you."_

"_Raiza, I'll-"_

_Kosho smiled again, stroking her mate's cheek with her index finger. "I know you will. I know... that you'll be a great man... and an even better... father. Though I think... you'll have to be both roles... now. Heh... sorry."_

"_Kosho... You can't... I can't lose you," his broken voice said. This was really happening, wasn't it? All he could do was go through with it, but damn did it hurt every step of the way. No physical beating ever could accommodate for this._

"_No... you won't..."_

_He never even heard the doors open with his team coming in from behind him. Other saiyans, checking her pulse, pulling out a stretcher and attempting to move her. He wasn't going to let that happen._

"_Don't touch her!" he snarled, swinging at one of the saiyans, turning and driving a kick to the other before he was restrained from behind._

"_Let go of me! I need to help her!"_

"_Raditz!" the authoritative voice of his father rang in. "You need to calm down, son!"_

"_Father?" he growled. "Let go of me! I can still save her, we need to take her to a tank!"_

"_We can't do anything else, Raditz, she's lost too much blood! Even you know that!" his father sighed. "We can't help her, son. She's gone."_

"_NO! Do NOT tell me that!" he snarled, surprising his father with how much of a struggle he was putting up._

_The stretcher lifted, her body placed in a black body bag as the medics took her down the opposite end of the hall._

"_Kosho! Come back! Come back! KOSHO NOOOOO!"_

_End Flashback_

"I never saw her again," Raditz said. "I found out, years later, that the information she was carrying was a warning from Count Dani to anyone who found it. That Frieza was merely milking strong races until they became too much of a nuisance. Then he wiped them out. Just like the Mignons, and just like us. Your mother found out... we could have stopped them."

Raiza wasn't even sure where to begin. He certainly asked for it, but it was just... he had no idea his mother was trying to stop Vegeta from being destroyed by Frieza.

"Dad," he said. "It's not your-"

"Save it," he quickly replied. "I've had over twenty years to think about it."

He stood up, rolling his neck a couple of times to relieve the crick he had placed on it. "We aren't going to beat Cell by crying about what happened a long time ago. Now get up."

"Yeah," he nodded, standing as he faced his father. His body aged well, but he could tell in his face he was still hurting. Then again, he probably would be, too.

"Do you see now why I demand you detach yourself from such things? Your emotions, tangled up by someone who you are not even involved with, nothing can come from it that is good. But you must admit them so you can remove yourself from it, it does you no good to ignore it. You are simply digging yourself further into a mental struggle, you'll lose focus on your training. And Cell will kill you the second he sees that."

"I don't believe that, Father," he matter-of-factly replied as he took a stance. "Humans are nothing compared to us, but their emotions, they can make them into very capable fighters. What if-"

"We are NOTHING like humans," he snapped, then vanished. "Never forget who you are, and what you excel in. Do not train your weaknesses, they are your weakness for a reason. Instead, make your strengths overwhelming!"

The silence filled the empty realm Raiza stood in. His father had a mixed message, so it seemed. Just in time, his elbow turned, catching a shin from his father. In a flash, they both transformed, and their sparring began. The real training had finally begun.

But would it be enough?

**X X X**

"I don't have a good feeling about this," Trunks thought out loud as he watched his father standing at the edge of a canyon. "I know you can feel it, too! Their powers just vanished."

"Be quiet, boy!" Vegeta snapped as he kept his eyes shut. "So what if I can't sense Raditz and his son's power level? They're searching for Cell, remember? They obviously don't want to be seen by him."

"It just feels really sudden. Not like they died, but they... disappeared."

"Hmph. Good. Saves me the trouble of teaching Raditz a lesson in loyalty once I'm finished with Cell, and his son."

"Father..."

Two days had gone by like nothing. Cell was still out there, and he could time and time again feel the others power levels as they moved from city to city. But Raditz and Raiza suddenly disappearing didn't sit well with him. If Cell had gotten to them both and absorbed them, he was sure Cell would be too strong for them. Things looked bad, almost more grim than in his time.

**X X X**

Eight months later and Raiza was still wondering how he was keeping it together. He was used to going a few days tops with little to no sleep, but his father was true to his word. This barely any sleep routine all the time was driving him to the edge. The whole time, he only had five hours worth of rest every month. Why was his father so intent on driving him so hard? If he wasn't fully awake and fully aware, how was he going to be able to fight?

He wasn't even sure how he was able to hold his super saiyan form for as long as he could. At the very least, his father corrected his error that caused his splitting headaches.

"**You can't put that kind of pressure on your head. You need to use your whole body. It's like if you were to sing, you don't use your head or your throat, you use your diaphragm. What? Of course I don't sing, don't be absurd, it's the same practice! Just like you don't throw a punch with just your arm, you use your whole body to gain the most from it."**

Arms and legs were heavy. His head was held up only by will power. Raditz appeared behind him, Raiza ducking just in time as a kick swung over where his head would have been. He gripped the ground with his palm as he slid himself back, tripping his father as he back flipped on instinct. Before landing, a barrage of ki blasts shot towards him. They were large enough to do a lot of burning damage, something he definitely wanted to avoid.

Left, right, down, left, jump, then the turn to block his father's fist.

But he was too slow this time, Raditz's leg catching Raiza's left as he tripped him, grappling his arm as Raiza was swung over on a hard smash onto the ground.

"Raiza," his father said. "I need you to do me a favor, son."

Sleep? Leave him alone? He hoped it was that, even five hours of sleep sounded like a deep slumber in his mind.

"What's that?" he sighed, hair falling down as he returned to his base form out of exhaustion.

Raditz let his hair fall, returning to his base form as well. "I need you to pull my tail out."

"What?" Raiza shouted, sitting up to face his father. "Your tail? How did the bud grow back so quickly?"

"I'm not sure, I imagine the type of stress we've been doing has sped up the process. Now then, I don't need to remind you how delicate a process this will be. You have to pull the tail out hard enough to reach a full extension, but you can't pull too hard or you'll strain the entire muscle or risk ripping the tail out," he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "And it's very painful."

"You've had your tail pulled out before?" he tilted his head, curious.

"No. But my father, your grandfather did, once. Toughest person I ever met, broke through solid wood with his teeth from gritting it so hard, almost in tears."

Raiza scratched his head. "We don't need to-"

"What?" Raditz gasped. Did his son, a pure-blooded saiyan just say what he thought he said? "Do you have any idea how difficult it is just to stand up without a tail? It completely throws you off balance- you have to learn how to walk again! And the amount of power it cuts down... if I hadn't lost my tail, I would have destroyed the androids with ease. Even Cell, he would have been nothing!"

"But Uncle Kakarot and Veg-"

"They lost their tails years ago, they've gotten used to it. Unfortunate, but it seems even the prince of our own race seems to have forgotten our race's greatest tool," he frowned, glancing down at his son. "But you shall not, nor will I. Now get up, we... might as well get this over with."

Raiza frowned as he stood up. He knew he was going to hate doing this, never mind how his father would feel. It's been eight months, and his father was brutal as a trainer. He always hurt you _just_ enough leave you squirming on the ground in pain, but never enough to break your bones. Bruises, cuts, and headaches, but never anything fatal during their training.

"**You're useless in a fight if you break a limb. You remember how badly Vegeta fought when that android broke his arm? Condition your bones and you can naturally deliver a more powerful punch with the same amount of effort as when you first started. You've done well so far, but I know you can do much better than that."**

His father had a weird way of training him. By all stretches, most of the lessons he taught him were heavily contradicted. He was a hypocrite, but at the same time, he saw a genuine side of him every time he tried to teach him something new. Perhaps not to make the same mistakes he did. It was strange, spending all the time he did with him growing up, and he was still getting to know his father in more ways than one.

Luckily as they walked back to the small area they called home for the year he didn't see him smiling; he was glad his father came back. It seemed just by him coming back, he became a totally different person. Or maybe it was just himself all along, just lost.

"Do you need me to explain it again?"

Raiza's face was completely blank. What just happened? "What?"

"You have to be kidding me, I hate repeating myself! Listen! I'm going to hold onto this column. The stub on my tail will be short, so you may have to dig into my skin to get a grip. Don't worry if you have to, it'll heal. Keep pulling until the bone stops you, and you'll know when it gives you a clicking sound that it's at its limit. Once you get that, you're done, and do NOT keep pulling or you'll rip my tail straight out."

Raiza felt awkward. His father was... bent over and holding onto a column. "So, uh, right now?"

"Ugh, yes right now! Hurry up and pull, this anticipation is driving me cra-AHHHHHHH!" he howled as the stinging pull came over him.

It was horrifyingly painful. Even the shot Piccolo put in his chest was nothing compared to this. Raditz could talk after he got hit by Piccolo, but this time all he could do was howl and groan, and use all his strength to hold onto the column without breaking it in two. Even when 17 was stomping his foot into the fresh wound of his tail being cut off, and applying so much heat, this was far beyond anything he had ever felt.

"Why's this so-ugh! This thing won't come out!" Raiza grunted. He wasn't going to risk going all out and accidently tearing the tail out, but he knew if he didn't do something soon that this would all be for nothing. It could take years for his tail to grow back, and they didn't have the luxury to wait for that to happen. Had to be now.

With a quick shout, he transformed, tearing pieces of the tile off of the ground with sheer power. Then he felt the clot loosen, he was about to pull the tail out. Never mind the amount of pain his father was in, he was so close.

Then with a small step back, he tripped. Out of instinct, he let go, and smacked right onto the ground, crushing the tile beneath him.

_Oh shit!_ he panicked. _The tail! Where's-_

When he sat back up, he saw his father. Also sitting down, but deep in focus on what was in his hands. It had been a long time, too long by his standards, and it was a little wet and soft, but it was still just like he remembered.

"Good job," Raditz smirked. "Everything went better than expected."

"Hey, your tail!" Raiza cheered. "Wait, better than expected? You thought I was going to rip it out?"

His father chuckled before letting his new tail wrap around his waist. He rapidly front flipped behind his son, gathering a small ball of ki and lobbing it into the distance. The blast was massive.

"No doubt," his father smirked. "It's good to feel whole again."

Raiza stood up, facing his father with a confused look. He was really getting into having his tail back. "What do you want to do now, Dad? I can still keep going if you want to get back to training."

"No, not yet," he replied. "Tomorrow. Get some sleep now, son. Real sleep. You'll see real results after you've slept for an entire night. This is what Vegeta and I had to do with Nappa while you were still a boy. We had to rely on less than two hours of sleep for days in between at a time during our missions. It's miserable, but when you really sleep, you'll come back at a great improvement than the days before."

When he glanced to see his son's reaction, his eyes fluttered in surprise at the fact that he wasn't even there anymore. _Tch, must have gone to bed the moment I said so._

He made a fist with his right, smiling at the milestone he hit after just getting his tail back. So much power, returning. He felt incredible, complete once again.

And ready to face Cell.

**X X X**

"Heh, yeah, I plan on being stronger than a Super Saiyan."

One of the first things Goku did when he awoke from his tiring slumber, throw a few punches, warm up his muscles, and already discussing the next plan.

The door handle Master Roshi was holding onto broke off just seconds later. "What's that? Did you say stronger than a Super Saiyan?" to which Goku simply nodded. "I don't think it can be done!"

"I can do it," he calmly replied as he gazed into the brass doorknob. "It's the only way to beat Cell. And I won't know if I don't try, will I?"

"A year," Goku said, lobbing the doorknob back to his master's hand. "To know for sure, a year is all I'll need."

"A year? But eh, that's a long time!" Roshi replied.

"Sure it is! But we both know a place where it can be done in a day. In fact..." Goku stopped in deep thought for a moment. A second later, he smirked. "Yep, just as I thought."

"Just as you wha?"

"Raditz and Raiza. They're using the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, they have to be. Their powers are nowhere to be found, and I know that if something had happened to either of them, I wouldn't be able to sense any of the others."

And just as his serious observation left his mouth, his face gazed upon his slowly frustrated wife, yet again ready to unreasonably request something involving Gohan.

"Hey Chi-Chi! I'd like to take Gohan with me if that's okay with you?"

"That's a joke, right? Right? Right?"

"Huh?" Goku messed up. Just woke up and he felt like he was about to go under again. He couldn't really ever get a break sometimes, especially from his wife.

"Well?" she squinted her eyes. "What do you think I'll say, GOKU?"

But to his and Master Roshi's surprise, she calmed down just a second later. "Yeah, okay. Go ahead, I can't stop you. But I want you to make SURE Gohan gets as strong as possible," she stepped in, giving a playful punch to her husband's face. "K?"

"Sure," he nodded. Man it felt good to have that kind of support behind him. He was worried he'd have to battle her with words to let her give him Gohan. And well, words weren't exactly his strong suit.

"Now," she started. 'Why was there always a catch?', Goku thought. "If I let Gohan go and battle those androids, YOU have to promise to let him study when he comes back. Alright?"

**X X X**

"Are we there yet, Yamcha?" Tien asked as the plane kept trudging through the sky.

"Soon."

"Well hurry up, we don't want Cell to get away again," he backed off, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "We have to stop him, and quickly."

"But we have to find him first," Piccolo cut in.

"Hey," Tien looked to Piccolo about a minute later. "I'm having a hard time picking up Raditz and his son."

"Mm, so have I," the namek replied. "If my gut is right, they're taking drastic steps right now."

"Huh? What do you mean by drastic steps?" Gohan asked.

"Don't worry, they're okay. I imagine Raditz just wants to get his bases covered while we're out searching for Cell."

"Ugh," Krillin groaned. "We sure need Goku..."

Literally on cue, the sound of an afterimage was heard behind him, turning heads from everyone on the plane. Except for Krillin.

"Yep... sure would be nice..."

"Ah! It's... my dad!"

"Goku?" Yamcha gasped.

"Sure would be great if he showed up..." Krillin pondered, absolutely unaware that his best friend was standing right behind him.

Gohan's eyes, shimmering with tears of happiness were an understatement for his feelings at the moment. "It's... daddy!"

"Huh...?" Krillin slowly turned.

"Hey!" Goku waved at the back of the plane.

"Yep. IIIII must be losing it," he said to himself. "I'm starting to see things."

But what if it was him? Maybe he _wasn't_ losing it. "Go... ku?"

"Hi, Krillin!"

In a shameless amount of happy tears, Krillin tackled his best friend. "G-Goku!"

Indeed, such a rush that he surprised even Goku by launching both of them through the plane. "Goku! You came back!"

**X X X**

"I can't believe it!" Krillin started. "You're back."

"Yeah! ... So when do we eat?"

"Goku... you, you nut! You're back to normal all right!"

"Well, a guy's gotta eat, right?" he smiled.

Not even noticing at first, Gohan started to well up in tears at the sight of his father. It was finally sinking in for him, he was going to die, but now he's here.

"Hey, why the long face, kiddo?" he said, palming the top of his son's head. A few seconds later, Goku's signature look worked its way into Gohan as a laugh escaped from him.

Now this was going to be tricky. Goku glanced at Piccolo, but he... wasn't sure... how to...

"Kamiccolo!"

If there was a drink in Piccolo's mouth, it would have been sprayed all over the plane's interior. But the others were enjoying Goku's name guessing as it brought a smile to everyone. Except Piccolo. "What? Was it something I said?"

"Listen, I've been through some changes, but my name is still Piccolo," he grunted. "And don't forget that."

"Sure thing! No problem, hahah."

"Well, what?" Piccolo asked, annoyed that Goku was just laughing about everything happening right now.

"Hah... eh... Hey, Piccolo. There's no way we can defeat a power like Cell's in a fight right now. That's why I decided to start training again. And I know a place where I can get a year of training in a day!"

"Where is that?" Yamcha asked, not watching the sky in front of him.

"It's at Kami's place," he replied.

"So it's back to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Heh, looks like you'll have to wait in line. It's occupied at the moment," Piccolo added on.

"Yeah," Goku nodded. "That's where Raditz and Raiza are at right now. That's good, we need everyone at their best as soon as possible."

"It might be too much for you to handle, Goku," the namek started. "Raditz is a lot stronger than you are right now, and I imagine he's struggling to stay in for his second term. It wears on you in the most miserable ways."

"Yeah, that's why I'm taking Trunks and Vegeta," Goku cut in. "That way even if Raditz can't complete it a second time, or Raiza can't finish one year, we'll have a better chance at one of us doing it."

"Then go, quickly," Piccolo replied. "Cell gets stronger every day, and time is in short supply. If we let Cell absorb 17, we're finished for sure! He was already able to overpower both Raditz and myself at the same time when we first fought him. Even with the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, if Cell absorbs 17, he could still be far out of our league. You have to hurry, Goku."

"True," he nodded, turning to face his son. "Come on Gohan. Take my hand."

"Right."

**X X X**

_Yes... I can feel it! I know it can be done! I CAN ascend beyond a Super Saiyan. The only question is... how?_

A seed without water or sunlight is just a seed, but for Vegeta, he was planning on making it sprout without those two. The days of standing and meditating drew him closer to the conclucison that ascension was more than possible.

And Trunks just sat at the bottom, watching his father do... well, nothing. _Father. You're so proud and arrogant. Well I've got news for you: I'm not going anywhere. If you can raise your power to the next level then so can I! I'm here to stay whether you like it or not._

And then, the rushing sound of cutting air rang behind him. He turned, and there was Gohan and... Goku?

"Go... ku."

"Hey, how's the training going, Trunks?"

"Not well," he replied as he stood up to face him. "I guess my father really doesn't want me to train with him. He thinks I'll slow him down and every time I get close he tells me to get lost. Look at him! He's not doing anything. He's been standing there, staring into space for the last three days. He hasn't moved."

"Yeah, that is strange," Goku thought. "Maybe he's just waiting for a sign, or something to show him the way. Right?"

"Huh?"

"I'll go have a word with him."

Goku simply lifted off the ground, landing behind Vegeta a second later. "Hey, Vegeta!"

"Kakarot, leave me alone!" he barked.

"Hey, hold on, I just want to help you out Vegeta. I know what you're trying to do. There's a room at Kami's place where you can get a year of training in one day."

That piqued his curiosity. Plus it could explain... "Kakarot. Where is your brother? Have you seen him?"

Goku shook his head. "No, but I know he's there training right now with Raiza."

"I could ascend to the next level very quickly," Vegeta said to himself, almost completely ignoring what Goku just told him. "Take me there. And if Raditz is still training in there, I'll walk in there and drag him out myself. We have no use for wasting valuable time on such a limited fighter!"

"Sure, but here's the problem: Only two people can go in the room at once. So you'll have to wait until they come out. But as for me, I'm going in with Gohan, so you'll have to go in with Trunks."

He grunted. "This better not be another one of your tricks!"

"Hey, would I lie to you?" Goku cheerfully asked. "We're all in this together now, remember? This is on the level, I promise!"

"All right, I'll go! But the second your brother and his son leave, I'm going in!"

"Sure," he nodded. That went smoother than he thought. "You know this is a great way for a father and son to get to know each other..."

**X X X**

As the final pair of clothes hit the ground, Cell listened in for anyone who may be hiding. When the silence of death filled his ears, he knew he was finished with this small village.

"Yet another step closer to my prey," he smirked. "No more if, only when."

**End Chapter 22**

**And so now you know a little bit about Raiza's mom, yay! Things will get interesting pretty soon... especially when Cell shows up again. Stay tuned, see you next time! -PD**


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